Mass Effect: Ghost of the Terminus
by Reviewer543
Summary: Here is my sequel! If you haven't seen my first story look at it first! otherwise you'll be confused! DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS! I WAS INSPIRED TO MAKE IT! READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! WARNING: Will use other elements of other media! Multi-class, Paragade M Shepard. Possible harem. ENJOY!
1. A nice vacation

ESTABLISHING SECURE CONNECTION

SECURE CONNECTION CONFIRMED

LOGIN NAME: John Shepard

ALIASES: LION OF ELYSIUM, SOLE SURVIVOR OF AKUZE, BUTCHER OF TORFAN, GHOST OF THE TERMINUS

ORIGIN: COLONIST SURVIVOR OF MINDOIR, LIVED AS A SPACER WITH A MERCENARY FOR 5 YEARS, LIVED ALONE ON OMEGA SINCE THEN.

NOTABLE ACHIEVMENTS: REPELLED SLAVER INVASION OF ELYSIUM, SURVIVED THRESHER MAW MASSACRE OF AKUZE, RUTHLESSLY DESTROYED SLAVERS ON TORFAN

CLASS: JUGGERNAUT- COMBINATION OF ALL CLASSES (SUPER CLASS)

FACIAL IDENTIFICATION: BLUE EYES, SHAVED MIDNIGHT BLACK HAIR, TAN SKIN, MILD 5 O'CLOCK SHADOW (DEFAULT APPEARANCE)

CONFIRM APPEARANCE?

YES

PICTURE:

"Hey Shepard what do want for file picture?" Isaac asks.

"Why do I need a picture?" Shepard asks.

"Just pick one!" Isaac says.

"Fine! Damn! Here!" Shepard says.

Shepard in his Ghost outfit in the ME 3 pose with an omni-blade on his left arm, an assault rifle in his right, and a biotic aura surrounding him.

"There, happy?" Shepard goes

"Much."

"Okay lets get to Eden Prime then!" Shepard said eager to go.

On the way to Eden Prime

Shepard was in a depression. For a few years he was in a relationship with Liselle. He loved every minute with her. It was like every bad thing in his life never happened when they were together. He always complimented her, treated her right, never neglected her, always got her gifts when she least expected it and he was very confident about pleasing her sexually considering they fucked around 3 times a day and she started it. What he did not understand was why she suddenly broke it off. Was he boring her? Did Aria make her do it? And the worst one: Did she find someone else? That one was what Shepard feared the most. Someone he cared about throwing him away like he was nothing and for someone better. That is the most humiliating and painful thing a man can go through. Just before Aria told him to go take a vacation, Liselle had met up with him...

_Flashback_

_"John.." Liselle said lacking her usual upbeat personality when she saw him. She looked real stressed out for some reason. Almost as if she got some very bad news._

_"Hey Lis, is something wrong? Are you okay?" Shepard asked concerned for his girlfriend. For a second he could have sworn he had seen a smile start to appear on her face before she spoke up._

_"John we have to break up." Liselle said shocking John._

_"B-Break up? Lis what is it? You can tell me whats wrong." John said desperately hoping this was a bad dream._

_"I can't tell you why. All I can say is its not you it's me ok?" Liselle said with her voice cracking._

_"But Lis..." John said feeling his heart break. He desperately wanted to speak up, he really did but the words were not coming out._

_"Goodbye John." Liselle said as she walked away from him leaving him alone in his house._

_Flashback end_

That night Shepard had drunk himself into unconsciousness. Luckily Isaac had the good sense to lock him in the house before he could do something stupid. After getting over a hangover that could fell an elcor he went to talk to Aria to ask if she knew why Liselle broke up. He knew if she wanted the space she would have it, but he would like to know the reason why his heart was broken. He and Aria talked about it, Aria mentioned that Liselle looked like she had seen a monster or something a few days ago, neither one of them really knowing why this happened, but both agreed it was best to let Liselle have her space. After that, Aria gave him a little vacation time to sort himself out since he, in her words "Smelled like a brewery on fire." With that he and Isaac picked a planet for their vacation and left Omega the next day. Just before he left he sent 2 messages out. One to Aria saying he is going on his trip. The second one went Liselle saying where he was going and that he wishes her well.

Aria's message was simple "Don't get into too much trouble"

Liselle's message brought a smile to his face, "Be safe and come home soon."

To Shepard that meant she still cared about him. That meant the world to him. All his life his mother had said that the only thing bigger than his brains was his heart. He felt a lot of things. Most of them bad and only a few good. To know she still cared made his depression lessen a lot.

"Well, lets get to Eden Prime Isaac, I'd like to relax on a paradise again." Shepard asked Isaac.

"On our way, Shepard." Isaac responded. The Judgement soared through space toward Eden Prime Unaware of what will happen.

Eden Prime

Shepard had landed on Eden Prime happy about being on a colony that was regarded as a paradise. He had just gotten off his ship was docked and locked up so no one can get in. Unfortunately, there was a group of soldiers there when he got off. He had his armor part on, but not the cloak or hood so they wouldn't recognize him as Ghost. That did not stop them from noticing him as he walked by though.

"Hey you!" called out a female officer in a white and pink came up to him.

"Yes?" He responded.

"Why do you have such heavy weaponry on you? This is a peaceful colony that doesn't need trouble." The unknown woman stated, brown eyes boring into his blue ones.

"Before I answer, how about we introduce ourselves first, it is a courtesy after all." Shepard said with confidence in his voice. The soldier seemed shocked that he wasn't in the least bit intimidated by her.

"Gunnery Chief Williams of the 212. You?" Williams said

"Shepard, a freelancing merc on his vacation. Don't worry I'm not here to cause trouble, just to take a few days to relax." Shepard responded with a calm voice. The other soldiers seemed to scowl at him after he said he was a merc. Apparently soldiers did't like mercenaries too much around here. Who knew?

"You had better cause trouble here mercenary. Or we will make you wish you never landed here in the first place." Williams warned him in a strict voice.

'This chick has a hard on for the military huh? I could get in trouble.' Shepard thought to himself while nodding at her. That was when he started walking toward the colony.

'Well this is a shitty start. One foot on the ground and I already have people mad at me. Sheesh.' Shepard said as he went to the nearest inn, motel or whatever they had on colonies for temporary visitors.

Later that night

Shepard had donned his Ghost outfit with the mask and cloak now and he decided to go to the bar to have a drink. He really wanted to test out his straw that he added to his mask to see if it worked properly. He was now sitting in the bar happily enjoying a Tasty Tankard sipping through his straw. He then heard Williams and her team come in and they started drinking and having fun. He was listening to some guy called Sergeant Donkey trying to seduce Williams until an officer came in with 2 of his followers, telling them about a beacon. That was when the guy got into William's face. He only caught a little of it.

"Your friends might not see it. But I do. You can't escape you past Williams." The asshole said with venom when Williams came out. Did she do something wrong? Was there something with her name he did not like?

"If you say so sir." Williams said in a tight voice.

"I just did." The guy responded. Okay it was time to mess with this guy now.

_**"Sounds like someone is being an ass."**_Ghost said out loud so everyone can hear it. That was when the guy came up behind him, grabbed him by his shoulder and said to the side of his mask.

"Who do you think you are?" The guy growled out.

_**"Just someone who is curious as to why someone is getting into another's face with an attitude like yours."**_Ghost said not afraid at all.

"Do you know who she is? She is Ashley Williams. Granddaughter to General Williams." The guy said so everyone could hear it. Ashley now looked miserable. Well lets see if we can fix that.

**_"Am I suppose to care to know who that is?"_** Ghost responded. The guy just laughed

"Well no I suppose not, in fact its better he is forgotten I guess." He laughed along with his 2 flunkies. Ashley looked ready to murder someone right now as did her team. They were about to get up when Ghost voice brought silence.

_**"Then why do you** **care?"**_Ghost said to the man. The guy stopped laughing along with his flunkies and looked at him strangely as did everyone else.

"What?" the guy asked.

_**"Why do you care about it that see fit to hold it over her and insult her with it?"**_Ghost said ready to mess with this guy.

"Because she is a Williams, a bunch stains on the Alliance!" the guy shouted at him now.

_**"What did he do that was so**** bad?"**_Ghost asked aloud. the guy responded, "He-" When Ghost cut him off.

_**"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to her."**_ Ghost said as he pointed to Ashley. Everyone was shocked at how fast he dismissed the guy and turned his attention to her. She immediately responded with what happened to her Grandfather and why the Williams name isn't popular.

_**"Why did he surrender?"** _Ghost asked.

"I think it was because he was outmatched and out manned. He knew he and his men would not win." She replied bitterly The guy was about to start ragging on her again when Ghost said something that shocked everyone.

_**"Sounds like a hero and real leader to** **me."** _was what he said.

"What?! What do you mean?!" The guy said outraged.

_**"He cared about his men more than the mission, more than his reputation and more than everyone else's opinions. In surrendering this one time he probably saved more lives than by fighting. A real leader watches out for those he leads, not the mission or goal. Yet you insult his memory and his family. General Williams was 5 times the man you will ever be you pathetic sack of shit!"**_Ghost said with venom to the man. That was when the guy pulled on his hood.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the guy said throwing a punch towards Ghost's head, only for the hand to be grabbed by the wrist and twisted at a very painful angle making the guy go to his knees. The guys flunkies were about ready to jump in until Ghost got up still holding the man.

_**"You wanna know who I am?"** _He lifted his head up so everyone can see his face. _**"I'm**_** Ghost!"** he said as he kicked the man in the face knocking the bastard out. The 2 idiots then jumped to attack him only for them to caught into a biotic grasp. They struggled for awhile until Ghost slammed both of them together knocking them out. He then left, but not before noticing Ashley sending him a grateful smile his way. He nodded to her as he left.

2 days later

Shepard was walking back to his ship ready to go home to Omega. It had been a relaxing vacation. Just what he needed: no real fights, no death, no destruction, just peace and quiet. Then the area suddenly got very dark and then the Judgement exploded in a flash of light which knocked Shepard of his feet. He quickly got back up only to see his ship in flames and geth running around in the distance.

"ISAAAAACCCC!" Shepard screamed.


	2. Eden Prime in flames

Recap: "ISAAAAACCCC!" Shepard screamed.

Now

After screaming his head off, he bolted to his ship's wreckage desperate to see if Isaac was still alive.

"ISAAC!" Shepard yelled out looking for anything that may tell him if Isaac was alive. Then all of the sudden he heard Isaac.

"Whew, that was close! Thought I wouldn't make it for a second there." He heard Isaac's voice but couldn't find him at all.

"Isaac where are you?" Shepard asked looking around for him.

"Look down." Isaac said. Shepard looked down and noticed his omni-tools were on.

"Isaac? Are you in my omni-tools?" Shepard asked cautiously.

"Yep. Right at the moment when that ship targeted the Judgment, I transferred myself to your omni-tools." Isaac explained

"Ship? What ship?" Shepard confused. He was sure it was a bomb that had detonated which had destroyed his ship.

"Shepard, look up." Isaac said in a… nervous voice? What would he be nervous about-

"What the fuck is that?!" Shepard exclaimed as he looked at enormous ship that had blocked out the sun. It was massive in scope. The metal had a violet tint to it and was shaped like a squid or a cuttlefish. It had lights going in a pattern all around it. The crazy part was it had geth ships flying around it! They had not been seen outside the veil in centuries!

"Shepard, I would advise that you suit up." Isaac said. Shepard immediately walked toward the armored crate that survived the ship's destruction. Last night Shepard had put his Ghost outfit along with all his guns. As he unlocked the crate he took out his onyx X medium armor with a shield modulator, energized weave, and a medical exoskeleton, all X class. He had all his weapons too: Kovalyov rifle X, Sokolov shotgun X with a spare, Volkov Sniper rifle, and a Karpov pistol X with a spare. He finally put on his Ghost mask and the cloak with the hood up. He loaded them all up with Tungsten rounds, VII series. He also equipped them all with kinetic coils X and frictionless materials X sohe could do more damage and shoot more. Now he was ready to take the fight to the geth now.

"Shepard, I've taken the liberty to giving your suit combat optics level X. The geth should not be able to jam your scanners now unless they were prepared to deal with commando units. I will monitor it and keep you informed of anything coming our way." Isaac informed him. Ghost could not help but grin. Isaac had been a blessing when he had created him. He had been a friend to him and was there for him when he started his crusades against the slavers.

"_**Well Isaac, let's go save some people."**_ Ghost said as he took off in the direction of where the most smoke was coming from ready for anything.

A few minutes later

Ghost had arrived on a cliff overlooking the destruction when a strange ship had come overhead. It wasn't a geth ship obviously, it had the name Normandy SR-1 on the side. Suddenly the cargo bay opened up and two men jumped out pointing their guns at him. The one on the left, Ghost did not know. The one on the right he knew immediately.

"_**Alenko?!"**_ Ghost said

"Ghost?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Alenko asked him

"_**I was on vacation until this happened. Who's the kid."**_ Ghost explained a little happy. It was good to see a familiar face in a place like this. He was curious about the guy standing next to Alenko.

"This is Jenkins." Was all Alenko said. That was when Jenkins piped up.

"Wow! You are the Ghost! Now I know things are going to be awesome!" Jenkins said with an excitement of a 5 year old child seeing their hero for the first time.

"Hey Jenkins! Cool it! An overexcited mind gets killed in places like this!" Alenko chastised Jenkins.

"Sorry sir, just excited about proving myself here." Jenkins replied sheepish. That was when Ghost decided to calm the guy down.

"_**Jenkins the key to being successful in missions like this is to keep a cool head and a cooler trigger finger."**_ Ghost said hoping that the boy would take his advice seriously.

"Easy for you to say Ghost. You proved yourself several times over on Elysium, Akuze and Torfan. Everyone knows what you can do. This is my big chance." Jenkins replied. That was when Ghost decided to makes things clear to him.

"_**Listen kid, all that stuff I did, it was never for a reputation. Each and every one of those battles cost a lot of lives especially on Torfan, ask Alenko here. He was there. Going into a fight while thinking of glory or honor will most likely get you killed before anyone else. If not then your squadmates will suffer then."**_ Ghost told the boy what he needed him to hear. Jenkins got real quiet after that. He even looked a little ashamed of himself. Looking at the scene before him, Alenko couldn't help but sigh.

"Look, patch your radio into this channel and come with us you don't know what's out there." Alenko said. Ghost only patched into their channel then left to scout out ahead.

"_**I'll scout ahead Alenko just watch my 6 ok?"**_ Ghost said as he moved ahead. After moving through some trees and past burnt corpses he saw someone very familiar running from something. It was Ashley Williams of the 212 and she was running from geth drones. Ghost almost jumped in until he saw her shoot them down which cleared his line of sight to see 2 geth sticking a colonist on some metal pedestal. A second later the colonist was impaled by a giant spike shooting out of the pedestal.

'_**Jesus! What the hell are they doing that for?!'**_ He could immediately tell why Ashley was afraid of them now. He noticed she had hidden behind a boulder and her rifle out. He then decided to kill the geth as quick as he could. He took his rifle out after using overload on both of them and gunned them without difficulty. After the little skirmish was over Ashley poked her head out and saw the same guy who had defended her a few nights ago.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley-" Ashley tried to say to Ghost.

"_**Look I know who you are, what I want to know is if you are alright, Ash." **_Ghost interrupted her. Ashley was a little thrown off by the way he addressed her.

"Do we know each other well enough for you talk to me like that?" Ashley asked him. Ghost froze for a minute at that.

"_**I did defend you a few days ago. That guy did after all blurt your name out. So are you okay?"**_ Ghost replied.

"Yea I'm fine Ghost thanks." Ash said thankfully he had saved her. That was when Alenko came running up… alone.

"_**Alenko, what happened to Jenkins?"**_ Ghost asked noticing that the boy wasn't with him. Alenko just shook his head.

"Drones shot right threw him and his shields." Alenko said sadly. Ghost felt sadness over the boy's death. He knew the second he saw him, he was green to battle and war. Poor kid. That's why he told him that stuff earlier.

"_**We'll be sure to give him a proper burial afterwards okay."**_ Ghost said trying to lighten the situation if only a little. Kaiden just nodded. He was silently grateful that Ghost cared enough to say that, false or genuine.

"_**Okay you both come with me. We have to check if anyone is still alive in the colony."**_ Ghost said already walking towards the colony.

"That's unlikely Ghost." Ashley said. Ghost stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned to her and said, _**"That doesn't mean you give up until you see for yourself Williams."**_ Ashley looked at him shocked at how he had spoken to her. He then continued walking with them following at a distance. After moving a hundred feet they came in contact with several geth troopers. Ghost took out his assault rifle and command Ash and Alenko to take cover and start using their weapons. Ash started using her avenger rifle and kaiden used a pistol and his biotics. Ghost used overload on several of them while Kaiden attacked used pistol on them. Ghost then used warp on the ones Ash was shooting at. After taking care of the geth they walked to a structure of ruins or something. That was when Ash spoke up.

"The beacon was right here! I don't understand." She said

"Williams, you're not suppose to say that in front of him." Kaiden yelled at her.

"_**Beacon? What are you talking about?"**_Ghost asked. That was when they explained about the prothean beacon. Why Alenko and Jenkins were on the planet. Why that guy had come into the bar that night. Why Eden Prime was under attack.

"_**So that's what this is all about. Well doesn't matter now, let's go."**_ Ghost stated. With that they trekked up the hill and came to see more of those spikes with people on them. Something was off about the people on them though. Unlike the other colonist these were shriveled, glowing and had what looked like implants or cybernetics. That was when the spikes came down with the bodies laying on the now flat pedestal. Ghost looked on as he watched.

'_**Why did the spikes suddenly go down? It obviously doesn't sense the colonist's heartbeats or anything obviously so what-'**_ Ghost thought until he saw the bodies moving.

"Oh god! They're still alive!" Kaiden said as he saw them.

"What did the geth do to them?!" Ash yelled out.

"_**They're not alive, their bodies are being controlled! Gun them down!"**_ Ghost yelled to them as he started shooting at them. Ash and Kaiden soon joined in. These things were scary but weaker than the geth were by a long shot. As long as you kept your distance from them they were not a threat. Then one got close to Ghost and it let loose something like an EMP burst. He responded with using warp on it to rip it to pieces. They continued on to some colony prefabs and noticed one of the doors was locked.

"_**Kaiden go unlock that door over there, Williams cover him! I'm going on ahead."**_ Ghost said as he walked in the direction to the spaceport. They went over to the door and began to hack it. Ghost walked until he came to scene that was overlooked a tramstation to the port. He also noticed that giant ship starting to fly off into the space. He then looked over and saw two turians talking. Ghost took out his sniper rifle and looked at the two. One was wearing black and pink armor with spectre weapons. The other turian unsettled him. This one was white, had no markings, a synthetic arm and cybernetic implants. That was when he noticed the first one turn his back to the second. The white one then took out a pistol and aimed it at the first to the back of the head. Thinking fast he aimed his sniper at the gun in the white one's hand and fired. The shot dislodged the pistol from the white one's hand causing the first turian to turn around and look at what happened. Then the white one attacked the first one and the two duked it out until the white turian had used his synthetic arm to jab straight through the first one's armor. Ghost had tried to make it to the fight but was helped up by several geth as well as those things… those husks. The white turian looked on as the masked human fought several geth and husks and was winning. He then took off to the tram to where the beacon was.

'The human will be killed along with any others when we detonate the bombs.' The white turian thought.

Back with Ghost

Ghost had finished mopping up the husks and geth as he made his way to the downed turian. The turian was still alive and looked at him.

"W-who a-are you?" the turian asked him as he gasped from the wound in his side.

"_**I'm Ghost."**_ He said.

"Ah, Aria's spectre equivalent. What are you doing here? Aria send you after the beacon?" the turian asked him.

"_**No, in fact I just heard about it myself. Don't really have much interest in prothean tech. Who are you?"**_ Ghost replied as he applied medi-gel to the wound.

"I'm Nihlus, council spectre. The turian I fought was Saren, a rouge council spectre." Nihlus explained.

"_**Never met a spectre before. Well stay here, two human soldiers will be on their way shortly they will provide assistance. When you can, come along with them and help. I'm going to say 'Hi' to this Saren guy."**_ Ghost said leaving toward the tram. As he got on he came up against several geth. He quickly used his Sniper Rifle with his adrenaline rush and sniped them out as fast as he could then made his way to the tram.

With Saren

Saren stood in front of the activated beacon. He then turned to the geth beside him.

"Arm to bombs, destroy the colony, leave no trace we were here." He said to the geth. He then turned back to the beacon as the geth trooper went to arm the bombs. Saren stepped toward the beacon and was picked up by a force…

With Ghost

He had just arrived to the port and had started shooting geth left and right with his rifle as well as his pistol. He used his rifle on the groups of geth while he used the pistol to take out single geth units. After taking care of them he noticed the bombs. He quickly moved to disable them when Nihlus, Kaidan, and Ash had come. He told them to take care of the bombs as he moved to where Saren was. As he arrived to the loading zone he saw Saren be let down after hovering a little off the ground.

"So the human comes to fight me while ignoring the bombs?" Saren said as he turned around to face Ghost.

"_**Well I wouldn't say I ignored them. I just entrusted others with them. Besides I've never fought a Spectre before, could be fun."**_ Ghost responded to the rouge spectre. They glared at each other for a few seconds. Suddenly, they ran at each other and clashed. Ghost used omni-tool fists while Saren used his talons covered in biotic energy. As they battled Ghost jumped and kicked Saren in mid-air, bouncing of him while doing a back flip and jumped forward this time back-handing the rouge spectre with his omni-tool right in the face sending Saren back a couple of feet. Then Ghost biotically leaped into the air with his omni-blade out ready to strike Saren down. Saren quickly shot a biotic throw at Ghost sending him flying back, crashing in to a pile of crates. Saren decided to retreat when he noticed the bomb signals go off. He quickly got on his hovercraft and flew towards where his ship was. Ghost quickly got out his pistol and ran toward Saren's direction firing until his pistol overheated. Saren had gotten away…for now. A few minutes later the others came to see what had happened.

"What happened to Saren?" Nihlus asked Ghost.

"_**He got away. He had some hovercraft thing that he rode to make his escape."**_ Ghost explained pissed off. He had just faced off against someone who reminded him of the slavers who attacked his home, but worse. This guy had an army behind him this time.

"Why are you here then Ghost? Why are you really here?" Alenko asked him with Nihlus watching as well.

"_**Believe it or not I was here on vacation. Aria gave me some time off. I was suppose to go back today, but my ship was destroyed."**_ Ghost explained why he was on Eden Prime. They seemed to accept this. That was when Ghost saw Ashley being pulled toward the beacon. He moved quickly, tackled her and threw her out of the way. Now he was caught in it.

"Ghost!" Ashley screamed as she tried to help him. Alenko held her back though.

"No don't touch him we can't do anything now!" Alenko said as he and Nihlus watched Ghost be taken by the unseen force.

Ghost was now feeling an intense burning in his head now as he levitated in front of the beacon. Now he was seeing visions, horrible visions. Of death, of genocide. People where running from something, they were strange, had four eyes and mushroom-like shaped heads. Then he saw metal being welded to flesh. He could hear the screams of pain, horror and despair. And then the beacon exploded sending him flying toward the ground and knocking him out.

As his consciousness faded he could hear Alenko going, "We have injured, need immediate evac." He could feel two three fingered hands hoist him up. He then heard Ash go, "Ghost don't you dare die on me!" She sounded pretty scared. Then he went unconscious. After that the visions started up again and replayed into an eternal loop.


	3. Unmasked

Recap: As his consciousness faded he could hear Alenko going, "We have injured, need immediate evac." He could feel two three fingered hands hoist him up. He then heard Ash go, "Ghost don't you dare die on me!" She sounded pretty scared. Then he went unconscious. After that the visions started up again and replayed into an eternal loop.

Now

Anderson was in the Normandy's medbay as he looked on at the figure that the ground team had brought in from. He had not thought he would see this person again after Torfan. Anderson had heard that he was still active in the Terminus, in fact the Alliance was still trying to find Ghost and recruit him into the military. Unfortunately, Ghost had been incredibly illusive. He could remember how some recruiters had been lucky enough to find him, or perhaps he had let them, and tried to recruit him. He always gave the same answer: No. When more of the jaded or serious ones tried to force him into joining, Ghost would break one of their arms and any escorts would be beaten down fast. Now Ghost was unconscious in his medbay. Anderson looked at the medical officer, Doctor Karin Chakwas.

"Make sure he is well taken care of doctor. He needs to explain what happened on Eden Prime." Anderson told Chakwas.

"Yes Captain. He is in good hands." Chakwas responded as she got to work examining Ghost. That was when Nihlus, Ashley, and Kaiden walked into the medbay to see Anderson watching Chakwas start removing Ghost's outfit. When she removed his mask, everyone had various thoughts to seeing his face.

'So that is what he looks like' Anderson and Kaiden thought

'So that is the face of Aria's spectre equivalent.' Nihlus thought to himself. The spectres as well as the Council had been looking for Ghost since they had heard his reputation. The councilors had various reasons for seeing Ghost. The turian councilor, Sparatus, was looking for Ghost to see what was so special about the human. He had been skeptical about the stories of the human that freed people taken by slavers. The salarian councilor, Valern, wanted him taken to be studied. He knew that Ghost was no ordinary human with his tactics and biotics along with the things he did. He also knew Ghost had someone helping him behind the scenes. The question was who? With the asari councilor, Tevos, he could not find out. He could only guess why she would want to find Ghost.

'Wow, so that is what Ghost looks like.' Ash thought to herself. To her, he was handsome in a soldier like way.

Chakwas was now removing his armor and cloak. The man before her was well built, like he had trained everyday. He had been wearing black fatigues so it was easy to get his armor. Chakwas had now been researching Ghost's blood, mind, and anything else. As she looked at his blood work, she noticed something strange. She turned to Anderson.

"Captain Anderson, look at this." Chakwas said to Anderson. Anderson walked over a saw what looked to be Ghost's genetic structure that Chakwas put on the overhead monitor.

"What am I looking at here doctor?" Anderson asked confused.

"His genetic structure is slightly different than others. It has additions that seem to make his biotics stronger, his muscles more durable and stronger, even helps increase his intellect and learning capability." Chakwas explained to everyone. They all turned to look at Ghost, shocked at this news. From what it sounds like the guy was supposed to be some kind of super soldier.

"Did he go through genetic therapy or something." Kaiden asked.

"No, by looks of this, it has been in his DNA structure for a very long time. Probably at a very young age, he might not know it himself." Chakwas continued to say. Now Nihlus knew that Valern would definitely want to study him in some lab, an STG base most likely.

"What I do not understand is this sequence of genomes in his DNA right here." Chakwas said she pointed toward a screen with Ghost's DNA showing. What she was pointing at was an odd anomaly in his DNA structure. It had actually surrounded his DNA structure and looked similar to a synthetic structure meant to hold it together or protect it. It was really strange. That was when Ashley noticed Ghost had started moving around almost as if...

"Doctor! Doctor Chakwas! I think he's waking up." Ashley said and everyone turned to look at Ghost who's eyes had finally opened.

"Ughh." Shepard groaned. He felt terrible and exhausted.

"How are you feeling Ghost?" Chakwas asked him. Shepard froze, then quickly turned to see the 3 who were on Eden Prime with him, some middle-aged lady with grey hair and Anderson. He then realized that the doctor had asked him a question.

"I feel shitty. Who are you?" Shepard said. In response he got a flick on his forehead.

"Watch your language here! You can call me Doctor Chakwas." she said after hitting him.

"What was that for crazy lady!" Shepard said rubbing his forehead. Flicks didn't hurt much but they were annoying on the head if enough force was used. Chkwas responded by kicking him in the shin for the crazy lady comment.

"The flick was for cursing, the kick was for the 'crazy lady' comment, and you also haven't told us your name." Chakwas answered, explained and stated at the same time. Shepard was nursing his shin. Who knew a small lady like her could hurt him like that?

"Okay fine Doc, I apologize for 'crazy lady' comment." Shepard said. Chakwas eased up on that.

"I'm not apologizing for my language though, your are not my mother." Shepard said with a cheeky grin. That was when Chakwas got out a needle of lemon juice and a scalpel.

"It was a joke Doc! Just a joke!" Shepard said quickly scooting away from what he wanted to call 'Doctor Sadist'

"Good boy. Now whats your name?" Chakwas said putting the needle and scalpel away. Anderson and the others were looking at how fast the situation changed in shock. They had never seen Chakwas act like that to anyone. Must be because Ghost was non-alliance personnel.

"You took my mask off huh? Well you can call me Shepard if you want." Shepard told them. Anderson was now shocked at that name. that was one of the few names of people who had not been found after the Mindoir attack. Over the years the Alliance had tried to narrow down Ghost's identity with his connection to Mindoir. The little boy John Shepard was on the list of suspects since no one had seen him since.

'So he was a little boy on Mindoir when it was attacked. The things he must have gone through.' Anderson thought to himself. He was saddened that the man in front of him had lost so much at a young age. Other thoughts were whirling in his mind though. Where had he been all this time? Why didn't he enlist, it would have helped early on? How did he survive? Anderson schooled his features for a debriefing.

"Shepard we need you tell us what happened on Eden Prime." Anderson said to Shepard.

"Well Anderson..." Shepard then continued on to why he was on Eden Prime, how his ship was destroyed, running into Kaiden and Ashley, then saving Nihlus. After that he explained what happened with his fight with Saren. Shepard noticed Anderson's face gained a dark look.

"How long was I out anyway?" Shepard asked.

"Around 15 hours Shepard." Chakwas stated.

"Its my fault. When I approached the beacon I must have set off some kind of security field. You had to push me out of the way." Ashley said. Shepard stared at her and noticed she seemed to be beating herself up over it. He decided to alleviate her of her guilt.

"Look, you didn't know what was going to happen, we can't change it so there is no use feeling guilty over it. Besides I'm fine. Though I think it would have been better if you took me to a hospital on Eden Prime instead of here. At the least I wouldn't have to deal with her." Shepard said pointing to Chakwas. Ashley blushed and smiled a little with how Shepard had taken it easy on her when he could snapped at her. That was when Shepard noticed Chakwas had taken out the scalpel again.

"Chakwas, it was a joke to cheer her up! Come on!" Shepard said a little nervous. That was when the needle came out.

"Come on Doc you can't take a joke?" Kaiden said. Chakwas then turned to him with an eerie look in her eyes.

"On second thought, what Shepard said was kind of rude." Kaiden said looking scared. Shepard gave him a betrayed look as Chakwas turned to him. She then approached Shepard slowly. Without warning Shepard freaked.

"STAY BACK!" He yelled and used stasis on her. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"What? You saw what she was doing. Anyone else and I might have killed them." Shepard defended himself. Anderson couldn't help but sigh. Shepard had not changed at all with his antics.

"Shepard, did the beacon show you anything before it exploded." Nihlus asked.

"Yea actually it did. It showed me... something a vision." Shepard said uncertain.

"A vision? A vision of what?" Anderson asked him. Shepard was quiet at first. In that time the stasis on Chakwas had ended and she settled on glaring at Shepard, but he didn't notice. Everyone was starting to worry when he spoke up.

"I saw... I'm not sure what I saw. Death? Destruction? Synthetics killing organics. I think I saw something about the prothean's demise." Shepard said shocking all of them.

"Hmmm. We will have to report this to the council." Anderson said.

"And what? Tell them I had a bad dream? You know they won't believe a human, much less me Anderson." Shepard said making everyone silently agree with him.

"Maybe we can get them to revoke Saren's spectre status." Anderson said hopeful.

"Yeaaaa. I'm not going Anderson. I have a condition." Shepard said. Everyone looked at him concerned now.

"What do you have maybe Shepard?" Chakwas asked him out of concern.

"I'm allergic to politicians and their bullshit." Shepard said with all seriousness.

"You are going to go testify do you understand." Chakwas said pulling out a thermometer from out of nowhere.

"Yes ma'am." Shepard said standing ram rod straight scared of what Chakwas would do to him if he said no. Everyone was laughing or snickering at him now at his reaction to Chakwas' fear tactic. Looking at the 2 of them was like looking at a mother and son interacting with each other. Anderson decided too take things to the Citadel.

"Okay Shepard go tell Joker to go pull us into dock." Anderson told him.

"Two things Anderson: Whose Joker? and Why do I have to talk to him?" Shepard asked confused

"Cause after this, I'm hiring you to take down Saren, in case things do not go well with the Council we will need someone who can take him on. You proved that on Eden Prime." Anderson explained.

"Fine, since I know you well enough you get a 50 percent discount." Shepard said getting up.

"How much?" Anderson asked nervous about the price Shepard wanted.

"500,000 credits." Shepard said freaking everyone, but Anderson out at the price. He was expecting something heavier than that.

"Okay deal." Anderson said happy that it was a 50% discount.

"Okay I'm going now." Shepard said heading up the stairs. As he got to the CIC he noticed everyone was looking at him. He froze looking at everyone and then just kept walking toward the cockpit until he got stopped by a grey-haired man who was dressed in his dress blue uniform.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"It's customary to tell your name first, but I am Shepard or Ghost as I am called sometimes." Shepard said casually. That was when everyone was looking at him in shock.

"What?" Shepard said. That was when the guy in front of him grabbed his hand and Started shaking it.

"It is an honor to meet the man who saved Elysium, Sir. I'm Navigator Charles Pressly. I was there at Elysium serving on the SSV Agincourt. We had seen footage of you in action against the slavers." Pressly said excited.

"Thank you for the compliment, but it wasn't just me who saved Elysium. There were others who helped." Shepard said blushing under the praise. He never was used to the praise he got for his deeds.

"Well sir, you played a very pivotal part in the battle. You became an inspiration for people all over the Alliance." Pressly said.

"Well thank you Pressly. I appreciate the thanks. Listen, Anderson told me to talk to someone named Joker." Shepard said.

"Oh Joker is the pilot in the cockpit over there." Pressly said pointing to the cockpit.

"Thank you." Shepard said making his way to the cockpit. As he made his way over he could see Joker in the pilot seat. Joker was wearing the Alliance standard fatigues as well as a cap. He had a beard from he could tell from his angle of approach. As he came up to him he began to speak.

"Hello, are you Joker?" Shepard asked.

"Yea, who is asking." Joker asked before he looked at who was talking to him.

"My name is Shepard or Ghost as some call me." Shepard responded. That was when Joker froze staring at him.

"Now what? Cat got your tongue?" Shepard asked.

"How do you know my name?" Joker asked a little wierded out.

"Anderson told me." Shepard said as he stuck his hand out for a handshake. Joker just looked at it but didn't shake it.

"What's wrong? Not into handshakes?" Shepard asked.

"Its not that, I have a sickness called vorlik syndrome which pretty much makes my bones brittle and very easy to break." Joker explained.

"Then why are you flying the ship." Shepard asked confused. He didn't mean to offend, he honestly didn't, but Joker took it that way.

"Hey, I earned all my commendations. I'm not good, I'm not even great. I'm the best damn helmsman in the Alliance fleet. Put the Normandy in my hands and I'll make her dance, just don't ask me to dance unless you enjoy the sound of snapping shinbones." Joker told him.

"Sorry Joker, I didn't mean to offend you honestly." Shepard said. Joker looked at him for a few seconds and noticed that he was genuinely sorry about it.

"Alright, its okay. Look did you come to tell me something or just to have girl talk." Joker said grinning at him. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at Joker he knew he was going to get along with Joker if stayed on board the Normandy.

"Yea, Anderson told me to tell you to bring us into dock. Also if you don't want to shake hands then lets do a fist bump. We won't have to punch, just tap. Sound good?" Shepard said putting out his fist. Joker took his own fist and gently bumped.

"Awesome. Ya know Shepard, I think you and I will get along just fine." Joker said

"You and me both." Shepard responded.

With Saren

The gigantic ship sailed through the empty void that was space. Inside Saren was thinking up his next move in his plan to find the conduit when he heard his partner approach.

"Ahem. We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime. The Normandy, a Human Alliance vessel, it was under the command of Captain Anderson, they saved the colony." the voice said in a controlled tone.

"And the beacon?" Saren asked.

"We believe the human who fought you may have used it." his accomplice said. That tipped Saren over the edge. In rage he lept out of his seat and started hitting things randomly, causing them to fly into the air, a few almost hitting his accomplice. He then walked toward his accomplice and put his talons on her face.

"Find out more about this human and have him eliminated." Saren commanded his partner, Matriarch Benezia T'soni.

Back on the Normandy

The Normandy was just pulling into the Citadel's docks, as Ashley, Shepard and Kaiden looked out the window.

"Look at the size of that ship!" Ashley said in wonder.

"The Destiny Ascension, flag ship of the Citadel Fleet." Kaiden said.

"Well size isn't everything." Joker said.

"Why so touchy Joker?" Ashley teased.

"Just saying you need firepower too." Joker responded.

"Look at that monster! It's main gun could rip through the barriers of any ship in the Alliance fleet." Ashley stated.

"Good thing it's on our side then." Kaiden stated back. Shepard wasn't impressed. Sure the Citadel was beautiful and all but that was it. He heard Joker talking with the dock operators when he decided to voice his thoughts of what was to come.

"Well now we are going to face the most evil force in the galaxy." Shepard said with everyone turning to him. That was when Anderson came up.

"I didn't know my Ex-wife was here." He said bemused. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at it.

"Okay the second most evil force in the galaxy: Politics." Shepard stated.

"What do have against politics, Shepard?" asked Nihlus coming up to see the citadel.

"I have a personal definition for politics that would explain it if you are interested Nihlus." Shepard said.

"Sure." Nihlus said with everyone nodding curious as to what Shepard's definition was.

"Okay Politics. It comes in 2 words: Poly the latin word meaning many; and tics which are blood sucking leaches." Shepard said getting everyone to chuckle at him.

"Captain, can we keep him please. I could probably use a challenge." Joker said. Everyone was laughing now.


	4. Talking with the big wigs

Recap: You all saw what happened.

Now

The Normandy had just pulled into dock at the Citadel, but before he could get off, Shepard was presented with a problem by Anderson.

"What do you mean I can't go out until I wear that?" Shepard asked.

"Look, your armor has been broken. Saren will find out who you are since your mask is broken too, you need armor and this is better than your old armor." Anderson explained. The armor that he was trying to get Shepard to wear was Onyx Heavy Armor X. Now Shepard would have taken this with no problem at all if there wasn't something on it.

"What's with the red stripe and N7 logo on it?" Shepard said pointing to them. Anderson sighed.

"The N7 is a program we put only the most gifted soldiers through for elite training. The red stripe signifies the human blood spilt in service to humanity." Anderson explained.

"You got any other armors I could wear? I don't want my armor saying I'm something I'm not." Shepard said. Anderson raised an eyebrow.

"Shepard, after the crap you went through on Elysium, Akuze, and Torfan you would already be an N7. Now the only other armor we got is this light phoenix armor if you are okay with that-" Anderson turned to Shepard who was already wearing the Heavy Armor and putting all his weapons on.

"I would rather be dishonest than wear something with pink on it." Shepard simply said his back turned to Anderson. Anderson couldn't help but smirk at Shepard. That was easier than he thought. Afterwards, Anderson had left with Shepard, Kaidan and Ashley. On the way out Nihlus split of to give his report to the Council.

"See ya around Nihlus." Shepard said as Nihlus walked off. They then made their way over to the human embassy only to see the human ambassador, Donnel Udina, arguing with the Council.

"This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!" Udina told the Council members. Shepard and the others moved to the other side of the room overlooking the presidium.

"The turians do not found colonies on the border of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador." Valern said with ambassador sounding like a term to put Udina down. Shepard just shook his head. Udina should have known that the Council wouldn't help them so long as it didn't affect them directly.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse." Tevos said. Shepard noticed her voice sounded as if she was an adult talking to a child.

"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rouge spectre. I demand action!" Udina said more forcefully. Then Sparatus spoke.

"You can't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador." Sparatus said with his voice hinting that he thought this whole thing was a waste of time.

"Citadel security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before." Tevos said finishing the conversation. With that their images flickered out and Udina growled as he turned to everyone else.

"Captain Anderson, I see you brought half your crew with you." Udina said to Anderson. Shepard was confused, he wasn't part of Anderson's crew so why did- oh right N7 armor.

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime... and Ghost who was on the ground to." Anderson said pointing to Shepard. Udina then turned to Shepard as he looked over him.

"So you are Ghost? Where is your mask?" Udina asked skeptically.

"It was destroyed along with my armor when the beacon exploded in front of me and knocked me out." Shepard explained. That was when Udina exploded.

"Then it was your fault that the beacon was destroyed!" Udina accused him.

"Hey you asshole, it wasn't my fault it exploded!" Shepard shot back at him. Anderson finished the brewing argument.

"That was Saren's fault not his." Anderson said.

"Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up any evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise the Council could use this as an excuse to keep us out of the loop in galactic politics." Udina said.

"That other spectre Nihlus' word should be enough to get them moving hopefully." Shepard said not really believing his own words.

"Saren is their top agent. Chances are they will take his word over another one." Udina said.

"It sounds like you managed to convince them to give us an audience." Anderson surmised.

"Yes though they were reluctant about it." Udina said.

"Come with me Captain, I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Ghost you can take the other 2 and wander around for a little until the hearing. I'll make sure you have clearance." Udina said as he dismissed them. Shepard glared at Udina's back as he left.

"Well I don't know about you 2, but I'm going to see the sights." Shepard said as he walked out and started wandering around. Ashley and Kaidan looked at each other.

"Maybe we should tag along in case he tries to make a break for it?" Kaidan asked.

"It would probably be smart." Ash stated as they both went after our wayward hero. After walking around for a while they came to a scenic overlook of the Citadel somewhere in the wards. The look was stunning with all the lights, buildings and cars flying around.

"Big place." Kaidan said aloud.

"That your professional opinion, sir?" Ashley said in a dry tone.

"Damn, this isn't a station. It's a freaking city." Shepard said aloud.

"There must be millions here. It can't be possible to track everyone coming and going." Kaidan observed.

"This makes Jump-Zero look like a porta-john. And it is the largest deep space station in Alliance space." Ashley said.

"Jump-Zero was big. But this is on a whole nother scale. Look at the ward arms. How do you think they keep all that mass from flying apart?" Kaidan asked stupified at it all.

"Guess the Council represents more races than I thought. No wonder they don't trust new people easily." Shepard said his own thoughts.

"I think they just want things to keep running. It must be difficult to keeping all these cultures working together." Kaidan responded to Shepard.

"Or maybe they just don't like humans." Ashley said in a skeptic voice.

"Why the hell not? We've got oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love. According to the old vids, we have everything they want." Shepard replied to Ash. Shepard noticed Ashley smirked before she started talking.

"If you expect me to get in a tinfoil miniskirt and thigh-high boots, I want dinner first." Then she blushed, realizing what she just said.

"That will be all chief." Kaidan said smiling.

"Don't worry Kaidan. I have to admit though, now I'm a little tempted to see it." Shepard said with a grin. He and Alenko couldn't help but chuckle at Ashley's sputtering. They all decided to go to the citadel tower after that.

At the Citadel Tower

Shepard and the duo had just exited the elevator when they saw 2 turians arguing. They decided to listen in on the conversation.

"Saren's hiding something, give me more time. Stall them." the turian in blue armor said.

"Stall the Council? Don't be foolish! Your investigation is over Garrus." said the other turian in a suit

"Dammit Pallin this is serious!" Garrus shouted. "We even have a report from another spectre that Saren was the one who started the attack. Does that not matter?"

"It's out of your hands, Garrus. It's over, Council orders." Pallin said in an even tone as he walked away. That was when Garrus noticed the group that had been watching the argument. He zeroed in on one person in particular.

"Are you Ghost?" He asked talking to Shepard.

"Yea." Shepard responded.

"Garrus Vakarian, I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation on Saren." Garrus admitted.

"With that argument earlier, it sounded like you want to bring him down." Shepard stated.

"I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way." Garrus said.

"Yea, I got the same feeling when I first saw him." Shepard sympathized. Garrus gave the turian equivalent of a smirk.

"Good to see someone agrees with me. Unfortunately he's a spectre, everything he touches is classified. I can't find anything concrete on him." Garrus said with his smirk vanishing.

"Don't worry about it. Look I'm going to go see the Council now. With how they are, chances are they're only humoring us, now don't stop investigating I'm going to see if I can at the least buy some time for any evidence to pop up. Okay?" Shepard telling his plan to Garrus.

"Yes, that could work." Garrus said with a nod. Then he exited through the elevator. With a plan formulating in Shepard's head, they all went to the Council chambers to begin the hearing. When they arrived Anderson was already there.

"Good, the hearings already started come on." Anderson said not wasting any time. Shepard looked around and noticed the Council. He also noticed Nihlus was in the room and looking at something with the turian version of scowl. Shepard looked at what Nihlus was looking at and shared the same sentiment when he saw the hologram of Saren. When he saw Saren he could see that he was giving all the humans a hate filled glare.

"The geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate that Saren was involved." He heard Tevos

"The investigation by c-sec has turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason." Sparatus said smugly.

"You have to eye witness reports, including one from another spectre." Udina said.

"We read the reports, ambassador, but we still have no solid evidence on whether or not it was Saren." Valern said

"I resent these accusations. I was nowhere near your Eden Prime." Saren said in a cool tone.

"You really believe we will think that?" Anderson said. Saren looked at Anderson with a sneer.

"Captain Anderson, you always appear to be involved when humanity has false charges against me." Then Saren turned to look at Shepard.

"And who is this? Your protege?" Saren said as his eyes bore holes into Shepard.

"No, I'm not. I'm Ghost, or you can call me Shepard, you know the guy who backhanded you in the face on Eden Prime? Hows your mandible by the way?" Shepard said smirking at him. Now everyone who didn't know was looking at Shepard in shock. Saren quickly got his composure back.

"Ah Aria's spectre equivalent? Can't say I'm impressed, but then what would you expect from a human." Saren said with human sounding like a poison.

"Hollow words coming from a man who is not even in the room." Shepard shot back. That was when he started chuckling. Everyone was looking at him confused. Why was he chuckling in a hearing?

"Is there something you wish to share with us Shepard?" Sparatus said with his usual annoyed tone. Shepard looked right at him.

"Sorry, its just something I noticed about the situation." Shepard said grinning.

"What was it that you noticed that caused you to laugh?" Valern asked eager to find away to study Shepard somehow.

"Its just that, with the turian councilor, a representative of all his species, I'm a little surprised that he so easily took the words of a bareface." Shepard said without an ounce of decency. Suddenly the entire Council Chambers with silent. the only thing that could be heard was the footsteps of the citadel's keepers. The reactions varied from person to person. With Anderson, Ashley and Kaidan there was confusion. With Udina he looked as if he was going to have a stroke any second. With Tevos and Valern, they both looked shocked at how he said it so plainly. With Nihlus and Sparatus, they were in shock. And finally with Saren, well he was pissed.

"How do you know that term?" Saren said as calmly as he could. Everyone could see he was now wishing he was in the room so he could strangle Shepard to death. Shepard looked at him smugly.

"I lived all around the galaxy after I lost my home to slavers. I picked things up as I traveled." Shepard said cheekily. That was when Sparatus spoke up.

"I suppose that would be ironic in a sense. You know your cultures real well, Shepard." Sparatus said in a calm voice.

"Thank you." Shepard said.

"Be that as it may however, many turians, as well as myself, have started moving away from that belief. Besides I have known Saren for years-" Sparatus continued to say until he was cut off.

"Then you should not be part of the trial on the account of personal bias with the accused!" roared Udina, seeing an opening that Shepard had provided. Now everyone was looking at Sparatus telling him to get off the podium in outrage. Sparatus looked around finally realizing he had stepped on a political landmine. He looked to his fellow councilors for some support, instead he got shocked looks from both of them and no support. With everyone in the Chamber going nuts, Tevos had to put the hearing to continue later on in the day. With that Shepard looked at Saren's hologram which looked at him with hatred. Shepard put his middle finger up toward Saren in return.

'After this I'm coming for you personally. I don't like people who attack colonies for no good reason.' Shepard thought as he watched the hologram wink out.


	5. Looking for Evidence

Recap: 'After this I'm coming for you personally. I don't like people who attack colonies for no good reason.' Shepard thought as he watched the hologram wink out.

Now

After the trial, all the human party had left discussing details on what to do next.

"I must ask Shepard was that bareface comment on purpose?" Udina asked curious.

"Maybe." Shepard said grinning.

"What exactly did you mean when you called him bareface." Kaidan asked.

"Well did you notice that most turians have markings on their faces?" Shepard asked with everyone nodding.

"The reasons turians have those markings is to signify the colonies they grew up on. If a turian committed a crime, the markings would show which colony the turian came from and would reflect badly on that colony. So they remove the markings so that their colony's reputation isn't harmed or to hide where they may have come from. Unfortunately, that is pretty much a way of showing that they can't be trusted." Shepard explained.

"How did you know that the turian councilor knew Saren well enough though?" Anderson asked.

"To be honest it was just a hunch. With the way he was acting I couldn't help but get a feeling that he may have known Saren well enough." Shepard confessed. Then he grinned.

"Besides, the trial was getting boring and Saren was making me mad so I decided to kick the hornets nest." Shepard with a smile.

"Shepard, if your little stunt had ended with the Council disbelieving us and messing with us I would have had you arrested for such disrespect, but since it actually got us some time I'll ignore it. You should go find any evidence that you can." Udina said.

"So we should hurry and find any evidence we can get." Anderson said.

"Wait Anderson you can not be part of this. Your history with Saren almost jeopardized us, if Shepard had not talked during the trial we may have lost." Udina said.

"Whoa Udina, I know Anderson has some history with Saren and all, but I don't think he deserves that." Shepard said trying to defend Anderson. Anderson stopped him with his hand raised.

"No, Shepard Udina is right. If I get involved the Council will definitely question our motives." Anderson said. Shepard couldn't help but sigh.

"Fine then, don't worry we'll figure it out. Anyone got any leads that we could go on?" Shepard asked aloud.

"What about that C-Sec investigator, Garrus? We saw him arguing with the executor." Kaidan offered.

"That's right! He was asking for more time with his investigation. He seemed to be getting close something when he was cut off." Ashley adding her input. That's when Shepard had noticed something. When Pallin left, he said Council's orders. What did that mean? Did that mean that the Council stopped the investigation before the hearing to intentional stop them from finding anything? Yeah they probably had done that! Shepard was taken out of his thoughts when Udina spoke.

"I have a contact at C-Sec that can help track Garrus down. His name is Harkin." Udina said.

"Forget it, they suspended Harkin last month. Drinking on the job. I wouldn't waste my time with that loser." Anderson said with a snort.

"Sounds like a typical cop on Omega to me." Shepard said.

"You've been to Omega?" Kaidan asked him.

"Been? I live there." Shepard said casually. Everyone was looking at him in shock.

"You live on Omega?" Anderson asked shocked that the Ghost of Terminus lived on Omega of all places.

"Since I was 16 years old." Shepard said. Everyone was a little freaked out by him now.

"We got any other leads? I'll take Harkin, but I would feel better if we had a more... reliable source." Shepard said trying to get off the subject.

"I have unfinished business that I need to attend to. Captain, meet me in my office later." Udina said walking away. Anderson turned to Shepard.

"Harkin is most likely getting drunk in Chora's Den. It's a little club in the lower section of the wards." Anderson informed.

"Probably tame in comparison to Afterlife on Omega." Shepard mused aloud.

"Afterlife?" Kaidan asked.

"Chances are Chora's Den has a smaller bar and fewer pole dancers than Afterlife does." Shepard said looking at him.

"How many does Afterlife have?" Kaidan asked

"Well I never bothered to count them when I walked in, but I do know you can't turn around in there without keeping 1 or 2 in your sights though." Shepard said. He couldn't help but chuckle at Kaidan's face when he said that. He also couldn't help but notice how Ashley was looking at him with judging eyes and Anderson was smirking at him. Shepard decided to explain things to everyone.

"Look I never decided to stay for the show, not that I didn't take a few glances. I was there for either drinks or to get a job from the boss herself, Aria T'Loak." Shepard said. Ashley's glare lightened a little at least.

"Hey Anderson I noticed that Udina is not on good terms with the Council." Shepard said a curious with how things were. When it was him and Aria things were rocky at first with her trying to manipulate him and him wanting to kill her during the training. Later on they got to know one another and eventually Aria had grown comfortable with how he was and he did not want kill her anymore.

"You noticed huh? He's frustrated. The Council's always preaching that we need to be part of the galactic community. But for them it's a one way street. They want us to expand and settle unstable regions like the Skyllian Verge and Attican Traverse. But when we run into trouble, they don't want to help us out." Anderson explained.

"You can't depend on them for trouble for everything. With the Council, they prefer to talk and wait for the problem to come to them. There is no use to asking them for help in a real fight." Shepard stated his thoughts on the Council.

"Look Shepard, everyone knows it is only a matter of time until we get a seat on the Council. The ambassador just thinks it should happen sooner or later, and I agree." Anderson stated

"Look Anderson maybe they would let you join if you may have been more willing to work with other species." Shepard said.

"Of course they would! If we did everything they told us to, they'd love to hve us on the Council, but it wouldn't be much of a deal for us." Anderson stated. Then he noticed something was off when Shepard said you instead of we, but wrote off as a slip of the tongue.

"I understand their side: They don't want us dominating the Council. It's founded on cooperation, but we have to look out for our interests too." Anderson explained

"Well, you might be able to do both then eventually." Shepard said. There it was again. That you instead of we.

"Hey what do you mean by 'you' don't you mean 'we'?" Anderson asked. Now Kaidan and Ashley were looking at him curiously.

"Well to be honest, I don't see myself as part of humanity." Shepard said startling everyone.

"What do you mean Shepard?" Ashley said looking at him wide eyed.

"Well even though the Citadel is a melting pot of different cultures, you guys still maintain differences in species. But on Omega its everyone for themselves almost. Living on Omega I had stopped seeing the differences with species. Asari, turian, krogan, batarian, vorcha, salarian, and humans, I hardly see the difference there." Shepard explained. Everyone was now looking at him like he had grown a second head.

"Your strange Shepard." Kaidan said.

"That's fine with me." Shepard said.

"Anyway Shepard there is another person you could ask, a volus by the name of Barla Von. He's an agent for the shadow broker." Anderson said.

"The shadow broker huh? Well that or Harkin huh? I'll do both Harkin first, then Barla Von." Shepard said. With a plan now in mind he decided to go to Chora's Den to start his search.

A walk to the wards later

Shepard, Kaidan and Ashley had made to the front of Chora's Den. During the trip they talked for a while.

"Look all I'm asking is why is it called Chora's Den? Did someone named Chora create it?" Shepard asked

"I don't know, why is Afterlife named like that?" Kaidan asked annoyed.

"That's obvious. Living on Omega is a living hell depending on which part of the station you live on which is most of it. Going to Afterlife with the women and drinks will make you think you died and finally went to heaven." Shepard told him. Ashley and Kaidan were now looking at him strangely.

"What?" Shepard asked noticing the looks.

"Nothing." The both of them said.

"Well let's get goi-" Shepard started to say before he noticed 2 turians coming toward them with assault rifles. The others must have noticed cause they went quiet. That was when the turians turned the weapons on them. They were to slow with Shepard using overload on them and their weapons. In combination with Ashley and Kaidan shooting them, the 2 would-be-assassins were gunned down easily.

"Those were Saren's men." Kaidan observed.

"Yeah, they were." Shepard agreed.

"That means that we are on the right trail, right?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, or that Saren believes we are a threat to him." Shepard said. With that they entered Chora's Den to hear the beat of the music playing, seeing the dancers he heard Kaidan talking about how he could understand why the place was so popular.

"Hey Lieutenant, you may want to pick your tongue up off the floor before you trip on it." Ashley said jokingly. Shepard smirked as he saw Kaidan blush at Ashley's comment. Shepard then looked in the direction of 2 krogan who looked to be arguing. One was a regular looking one who was acting like a bodyguard. The other one Shepard knew immediately was someone he did not want to fight. This one exuded centuries of experience, had red eyes as well as a red plate. The one characteristic that Shepard zeroed in on was the scar that went over the krogan's eye and down his face.

"Back off Wrex. Fist told us to take you down if you showed up." Said the bouncer.

"What are you waiting for? I'm standing right here. This is Fist's only chance. If he's smart he'll take it." Wrex threatened.

"He's not coming out Wrex. End of story." the Bouncer growled out.

"This story is just beginning." Wrex finished. Wrex then looked in Shepard's direction and walked towards them, heading for the exit.

"Out of my way humans, I have no quarrel with you." Wrex said as he walked pass them.

"What was that all about?" Kaidan asked aloud.

"Who knows lets just stay out of it." Ashley said not really thinking it was their problem. Shepard had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking. He couldn't believe how naive she was. On Omega, if someone else had a problem, you and others could be dragged into it. That was when Shepard noticed a guy in a C-Sec outfit drinking.

'That had to be Harkin' Shepard thought as he approached the man. Harkin looked at him as he approached.

"Hmph, Alliance military. I could've been a marine you know. Instead I joined the goddamn Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life." Harkin said.

"I'm guessing your Harkin. You can tell me where Garrus is then." Shepard said not really liking the man at all.

"Garrus? Ha! You must be one of Captain Anderson's crew. Poor bastard's still trying to bring down Saren huh?" Harkin said with a disgusting smirk on his face. Shepard was repulsed by how the guy was acting.

"Yeah I know where Garrus is, but first you have to tell me something. Did the Captain tell you his little secret?" Harkin asked.

"Is there something I should know about Anderson?" Shepard asked in mild curiosity. He was starting to get annoyed by this guy.

"The Captain used to be spectre. Didn't know that did you? Humanity's first spectre and he blew it. All very hush hush." Harkin said chuckling. Shepard was a little startled, but he knew something was off. Anderson was a spectre? No, everyone would have known. He may have been a recruit with a trainer or something though. But who... Saren! That's why Anderson is after Saren so much.

"Yea, messed up his mission so bad, they kicked him out. Of course he blames Saren. Says the turian set him up." Harkin continued.

"If that did happen, why exactly was he kicked out?" Shepard asked.

"Have to ask him yourself. Never got the details, bet it would make a good story though. The hero's fall. Classic tragedy. Ha!" Harkin laughed. Shepard was having enough so he decided to play with the guy.

"Yeah, but at least Anderson never kept making his mistakes, unlike you." Shepard said. That got Harkin to shut up.

"What the hell did you say.?" Harkin said.

"You heard me. Unlike you, Anderson never gave up and always did right. You on the other hand were major fuck up right off the bat. The only reason you are off the force now is because you are no longer useful, not that you were by much in beginning anyway." Shepard spoke his thoughts to the guy.

"I know you were one of the first humans on C-Sec, so the politicians kept you around because of that fact then. Now that they have more reliable humans in C-Sec you no longer have any value." Shepard continued.

"Well you just lost any chance of me telling you anything about Garrus. Leave." Harkin growled at him. Shepard gave a sweet smile to Harkin.

"Excuse me for a minute." Shepard said. Shepard then walked to the bouncer and started talking with him.

"Hey, listen do you care if I were to start a little trouble with that guy right there?" Shepard asked as he passed 2000 credits to the guy.

"What guy?" the bouncer asked pretending not to know who he was talking about.

"No one, nevermind." Shepard said grinning. He then walked back to Harkin.

"Didn't I tell you to leave." Harkin sneered at him. Shepard grabbed the bottle Harkin had, observing it.

"You know, I really need to know where Garrus is and I will find out." Shepard said.

"You won't hear it from-arggh!" was as far as Harkin got when Shepard had busted the bottle against Harkin's head. Moving faster than Ashley or Kaidan could faster, Shepard grabbed Harkin by the neck and had his omni-blade out towards Harkin's balls.

"Now listen and listen well. I don't have a lot of patience today. Now we can do this the easy way in which you tell me what I want now or the hard way where I castrate you here and now with my omni-blade. Understand?" Shepard said to Harkin who was sweating bullets now.

"Okay! Okay, Garrus was somewhere around Dr. Michel's office. She runs the clinic on the other side of the wards. He may have been heading there. That's it." Harkin said frantic to get Shepard to go away.

"Thank you, we'll be leaving now." Shepard said as he and the others left. As they exited Ashley spoke.

"Why didn't the Captain tell us about that Spectre business?" She asked.

"Does it matter? It was his business, not ours." Shepard said. They then continued on to Dr. Michel's clinic. When they got there Shepard felt something was off with how quiet it was in there.

"Hey guys get a weapon out I'm getting a bad feeling, get a weapon out." Shepard told them. Shepard took out his shotgun, Kaidan took out his pistol while Ashley took out her assault rifle. With that they walked in.

"I didn't tell anyone. I swear!" Shepard heard a female voice say. He could see some thugs messing with a woman in a doctor's outfit. Must be Dr. Michel. He also noticed Garrus was sneaking around the corner with a gun out.

"That was smart Doc." Shepard noticed one of the thugs speaking.

"Now, if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-" The thug said until he noticed Shepard and his crew. The thug grabbed Michel and held a gun toward her head.

"Who are you?" the thug said with Shepard and crew pointing their weapons at the thugs. That was when Garrus moved out of cover and shot at the thug holding Dr. Michel and scored right in the head. Thinking quickly Shepard used stasis on Dr. Michel. While she was paralyzed it also formed a biotic field around her so that she would be protected. He then joined in with Ashley, Kaidan and Garrus in mopping up the rest of the thugs. When the fighting was over, Garrus spoke up.

"Perfect timing Shepard. Gave me a clear line of sight on that bastard." Garrus said.

"Garrus nice shot and all, but seriously you could have shot her. And the fight that started she's lucky I used stasis to protect her." Shepard said worrying for Dr. Michel and Garrus' way of doing things. Sure he did things fast and lose sometimes, but he never put other people at risk unless there was no other way.

"There wasn't enough time to think. I just reacted. I didn't mean to- Dr. Michel? Are you hurt?" Garrus said realizing what could have happened.

"No I'm fine. Thanks to all of you." Dr. Michel said.

"Why were those men threatening you? Who were they working for?" Shepard asked her.

"They work for Fist. They wanted to keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian." Dr. Michel explained.

"How does this link with the investigation to Saren?" Shepard asked confused.

"A few days ago a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who did it. I could tell she was frightened, probably on the run." Dr. Michel informed them.

"She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to exchange information for a safe place to hide." Michel continued on.

"Where did she go then?" Shepard asked confused.

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker." Dr. Michel explained.

"Not anymore. He works for Saren now and Shadow Broker is pissed." Garrus said.

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That was stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer." Dr. Michel stated.

"Meaning that quarian must have something Saren wants. Something-" Garrus said.

"Worth crossing the Shadow Broker for." Shepard finished for him.

"She must have some pretty damning evidence on Saren then. Did she mention anything else?" Shepard asked.

"She did mention the information she had was something about the geth." Dr. Michel mentioned in thought.

"She must have been able to link Saren with the geth. There is no way the Council will be able to ignore this." Garrus said realizing what could happen.

"I think its time we paid Fist a visit, don't you think?" Shepard said aloud.

"Shepard, this is your show now but please-" Garrus started to ask.

"You want to join? Fine by me. We could use an extra gun or 2." Shepard said.

"Okay, hey I heard the Shadow Broker had hired a bounty hunter after Fist." Garrus said.

"Yea we saw him in Chora's Den." Ashley said

"We could use a krogan in a fight." Shepard stated.

"Last I heard, he was in the C-Sec academy." Garrus said.

"Why is he there?" Kaidan asked.

"Fist accused him of making threats. We brought Wrex in for a little talk. If we hurry, we can catch him before he leaves." Garrus said.

"Well lets go." Shepard said ready to go find anymore information on Saren. In doing so Fist stood in his way, and chances were he was going to need Wrex to help him. He and everyone then made their way to the C-Sec academy.


	6. Ghost becomes Spectre

Recap: "Well lets go." Shepard said ready to go find anymore information on Saren. In doing so Fist stood in his way, and chances were he was going to need Wrex to help him. He and everyone then made their way to the C-Sec academy.

Now

After walking to the c-sec academy the whole gang had arrived to see Wrex talking to several c-sec officers. One human and two turians.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist bar. Stay away from him." the human officer said.

"I don't take orders from you." Wrex said. Shepard immediately knew Wrex was not impressed by the intimidation tactic. In fact he was sure Wrex was only annoyed by the guy.

"This is your only warning Wrex." said the officer.

"You should warn Fist, I will kill him." Wrex said.

"Do you want me to arrest you?" the officer asked with a glare.

"I want you to try." Wrex said with the krogan equivalent of a smirk on his face. That was when he noticed Shepard, Garrus, Ashley and Kaidan. Wrex walked over to them.

"Go on. Get out of here." the officer said as Wrex walked away.

"Do I know you human?" Wrex said as he walked towards Shepard. Then Shepard did something no one saw coming. He reared his head back and head-butted Wrex. Everyone looked at him as if he was insane.

"The name's Shepard, or Ghost as I'm sometimes called. I have to meet someone and I have to go through Fist to meet her. Wanna help out?" Shepard said. Wrex recovered quickly and studied the human in front of him. This was Ghost? The man who defeated numerous slavers and 3 thresher maws? He then took a closer look at him and noticed the confidence in Shepard's eyes. Eyes that held know fear in them only an unwavering fire to do the impossible. Wrex noticed that the head-butt Shepard gave him was strong enough to send him back a few inches. This was a human he could respect.

"You've got a quad human! Shepard huh? Ghost? I've heard a lot about you. We're both warriors Shepard. Out of respect I will warn you, I will kill Fist." Wrex said

"Good, I'm counting on it." Shepard said with a smile.

"Fist will be expecting us. We would have a better chance if we work together." Garrus said

"My people have a saying: Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend." Wrex said.

"Enemy of my enemy is my friend huh? I can get on board with that." Shepard said grinning. Wrex grinned at Shepard.

"Well what are we waiting for here? Let's go I would hate to keep Fist waiting." Wrex said. With that all 5 of them made their way to Chora's Den only to see the club appearing to be closed.

"What the hell?" Ashley said.

"We were here only an hour or 2 ago." Kaidan said.

"I did say Fist would be expecting us." Garrus said. That was when they noticed Shepard was putting his hand on the door lightly patting it with a biotic aura surrounding him.

"What are you doing?" Wrex asked.

"I have a strange sense of energy waves such electricity and Eezo. I can even sense you are a biotic Wrex." Shepard said. Everyone looked from him to Wrex who was shocked. Wrex had not mentioned his abilities to them yet and the other 3 had assumed that he was a simple krogan mercenary.

"Wait, what do you mean by you can sense biotics?" Kaidan asked.

"Well, ever since I was a child I could always sense... something when I was around very powerful power stations or incredible powerful biotics. When my biotics manifested the sense got stronger 100 fold. Now I can sense any biotic or significant electrical signal any time I want. I could even tell you how powerful anyone with biotics are depending on their biotic aura." Shepard responded.

"Well what can you tell about Alenko and Wrex?" Ashley asked. Shepard then stared at Alenko for a minute and then looked at Wrex.

"From the feeling of their auras, they are very powerful for a vanguard and a sentinel." Shepard said.

"Wait how did you know what their classes were?" Garrus asks.

"Well I can usually tell by the radiance of their auras as well as the weaponry in their arsenal. Both their auras are strong but not as radiant as an adept is." Shepard explained.

"Okay Shepard, that is strange. So what are you doing with the door?" Kaidan asked him.

"I'm sending a biotic pulse through the door to tell what's in there. Currently the doors been locked and I can sense over a dozen armed men, including a couple krogan too." Shepard said as he backed away from the door. He then started gathering a warp field in his hand and started increasing the power of it.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" Ashley asked a little wary of what he was doing.

"I'm going to break down the door, what's it look like?" Shepard responded.

"Shepard, you do know that we could hack the door right?" Garrus asked nervous of what Shepard was doing.

"No you can't. They have taken out the door pad. You can see that, can't you Garrus?" Shepard simply said. Everyone started backing away from him. Then Shepard used the Power Strike(I don't know if there could be another name for it, if any of you got a decent name send it.) on the door. The effect was immediate and spectacular. The door stood strong for a few seconds, but then the door began groan and screech as it started to get crushed under the power of Shepard's attack. Shepard's team as well as the ones inside Chora's Den looked on in shock as Shepard's attack destroyed the door. With one final thrust (Not that kind you perverts!) the door exploded into Chora's Den, shrapnel flying everywhere hitting several of the armed men, killing them. Shepard flew in with omni-blades out and began slashing at the nearest enemy. By the time the others got in he was on the other side of the club. They surveyed what happened and noticed that Shepard was stabbing a krogan in the chest. That was when the other enemies had their trained on Shepard. Moving quickly, he grabbed the krogan's arm, twisted it behind it's back and used the krogan for a shield. The move worked and killed the krogan in the process while leaving Shepard unscathed. Then Shepard's team finally joined in taking on the remaining enemies in the room. Shepard turned his left omni-blade into an omni-shield and blocked gunfire from the entrance to the club's backroom. He noticed a fire canister along wall in the back and used incinerate on causing it to explode and kill one of the 2 men shooting at him. He then used his shotgun on the remaining guy and blew his head off with one shot. As the fighting ended Shepard surveyed the damage they did to Chora's Den. He had to admit he hadn't cause this much damage to a club since that one time Aria gave him Ryncol at Afterlife. He couldn't help, but grimace at that particular memory. It had been bad from the second that awful liquid went down his throat . As soon as he ingested it he was drunk off his ass and started trashing the club. The guards couldn't stop him and when Aria had to jump in it just got worse. Chairs and tables flew through the room as a biotic battle erupted between him and her. Poor Patriarch ended getting thrown around the room in all the confusion. The dancers were scared out of their minds and the guards were crying for their mommies. When he finally got out of it he came face to face with an extremely pissed off Aria and a messed up Afterlife. After that he had to repair the club as well as pay for any other damages that may have occurred and any drinks that were destroyed in the fight. What a shitty month.

"Damn Shepard, if you find more fights like this I'm going to have to follow you for awhile." Wrex said bringing Shepard out of his thoughts.

"Sure Wrex, though honestly this hasn't happened for a few weeks." Shepard replied. With that they all walked toward the backroom and came face to face with something that was ridiculous.

"Hold it right there! Don't come any closer." said a young worker.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Kaidan said.

"Warehouse workers. All the real guards must be dead." Ashley said.

"Stay back or we'll shoot." One of the workers said.

"This would be a good time to find another place to work at." Shepard said pointing outside.

"Yeah, yeah right. That's a good idea." The first worker said with obvious relief.

"Yea, I never liked Fist anyway." The second one said. The 2 ran out fast.

"Would have been easier to shoot them." Wrex commented.

"Shooting people isn't always the answer." Garrus retorted. They then walked toward Fist's office. Almost immediately, turrents from the side fired on them with Fist joining in. Shepard and company took cover quickly. Shepard began immediately hacking the turrents and caused them to self-destruct, injuring Fist in the process.

"Ugh Dammit. Wait! Don't kill me! I surrender." Fist said. Shepard then took his pistol and aimed it at Fist right between the eyes.

"Where is the quarian?" Shepard said in an even tone.

"She's not here! I don't know where she is. That's the truth." Fist said. Shepard immediately knew he was lying. He then biotically grabbed Fist and slammed him on the wall and held him there.

"He is no use to you now, let me kill him." Wrex said eager to shoot Fist.

"Wait, wait! I don't know where she is, but I can tell you where she'll be." Fist said frantic.

"I'm listening." Shepard said.

"Like I said, the quarian isn't here. She said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself." Fist said.

"Face to face? Impossible! Even I was hired by an agent." Wrex stated. It was true no one ever saw the Shadow Broker as far as Shepard knew. Shepard released Fist and let him onto the ground.

"No one meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. Even I don't know who he is. She didn't know that though. I told her I'd set a meeting up. And when she shows up, it will be Saren's men waiting for her." Fist continued. Shepard then threw Fist around the room before he slammed Fist onto the ground.

"Give me the damn location now before I break your arms and legs." Shepard growled.

"Here on the wards. The back alley by the markets. She is supposed to meet them now. You can make it if you hurry." Fist squeaked out. Wrex then took his shotgun out and shot Fist killing the crimelord. Ashley immediately had her rifle on Wrex.

"Drop the gun, krogan." she snarled.

"Why did you do that?!" Garrus asked horrified. Kaidan looked shocked at what happened. The only one who was calm was Shepard.

"The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half done." Wrex said.

"But still..." Garrus said. That was when Shepard spoke up.

"Look Wrex, a little warning would have been nice so I could back up a little. Williams lower your gun, no one is going to miss Fist." Shepard said.

"We don't shoot unarmed prisoners Shepard." Kaidan said.

"How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself. Besides, we have more pressing concerns." Wrex said.

"He's right, that quarian's dead if we don't get to her." Ashley said finally relenting.

"Well then, I haven't been on the Citadel long and I'm sure Ash, Kaidan and Wrex haven't either. Garrus think you could find the place Fist was talking about." Shepard asked.

"Yea, I know it like..what's the human saying? Like the back of my hand?" Garrus stated. Shepard nodded.

"Let's get moving." Shepard stated. Everyone but Shepard left the room.

"Hey Isaac, you there?" Shepard asked.

"Yea?" Isaac said.

"Hack the console over there please and transfer any files to my omni-tool. I get the feeling that a lot of people would want it. Just need to give it to the right one." Shepard said.

"Gotcha." Isaac said and began remotely downloading into an OSD. With that they ran out of the club and met several more armed men. They quickly mopped them up with their various talents and made their way to the back alley. Once there they saw the meeting had just started. Unlike everyone else Shepard heard the whole thing.

"Did you bring it?" the lone turian said.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" he could hear the quarian say in a cautious tone.

"They'll be here. Where's the evidence?" the assassin said trailing his hand down her arm. She quickly slapped it away.

"No way. The deals off." She said with an even tone. The turian backed off and then Shepard noticed 2 salarians walk out from behind a crate. The quarian also noticed them and threw something at them before she jumped into cover. It must have been a grenade because an explosion went off between the 2 salarians killing one and knocking the other on his back. The others then sprung into action catching the assassins of guard quickly overwhelming them. When the massacre ended Shepard walked towards the quarian. He could tell she was mad if her body language was anything to go by.

"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust that bosh'tet!" She hissed. Shepard couldn't help but smile at her attitude.

"Don't worry about Fist, he's gone now. Are you okay?" Shepard asked.

"I know how to look after myself. Not that I don't appreciate the help. Who are you?" she asked with a little suspicion.

"A friend. I'm Shepard or Ghost, which ever one you want to go with. I'm looking for any evidence that could prove Saren's a traitor." Shepard explained.

"I've heard of you Ghost, you helped other quarians who were on their Pilgrimage when they were taken by slavers." she said.

"Well it's nice to meet you miss..." Shepard said wanting to know her name.

"Tali, I think I can help you with Saren, but we need to be somewhere safe." Tali said.

"We can go to the ambassador's office. It should be safe there." Kaidan said.

"Well then lets go." Shepard said. With that they all made their way over to the presidium.

Presidium Embassies

"Anderson do you see the reports I'm getting?!" Udina boomed at him. A few minutes ago Udina was sent reports of Ghost/Shepard who had caused huge amounts of damage in credits.

"Seriously! A door to a club, an all out assault on Chora's Den and then the firefight in the wards? I'm starting to think this guy should be locked away." Udina said.

"Well things might have been far worse." Anderson said.

"Udina you don't need to yell. We could hear you from the outside at the entrance." Shepard said as he and everyone else walked in. Udina and Anderson turned to see them.

"You are not making my life easier Shepard. With all the damage you caused it will cost us a heavy sum of credits and-" Udina said until Shepard cut him off.

"And we have evidence that proves that Saren is a traitor. So calm down." Shepard said. He noticed Udina quieted down, but was still giving him his best death glare.

"Who is this? A quarian? What are you up to Shepard?" Udina said.

"This lovely young lady has the evidence." Shepard said grinning. For once Tali was grateful to have a mask on since it could hide her blush. Then Shepard said something that shocked her and may have shocked everyone else.

"Why are you blushing?" Shepard said.

"Y-Y-You can see me?" Tali said in strained voice.

"You can see through her mask?" Everyone else said shocked.

"Yea you guys can't?" Shepard said. Everyone else shook there heads no. Tali was shocked. Someone could actually see her behind her mask.

"Anyway, you might want to start at the beginning miss..." Udina said bringing the conversation back on track.

"Uh umm my name is Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." Tali said regaining her composure.

"We don't see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?" Udina asked.

"I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into a adulthood." Tali explained.

"What did you find?" Shepard asked. He wanted to ask about the Pilgrimage, but he would have time for that later.

"During my travels I heard reports of geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious." Tali explained. Shepard could understand that. It was natural. Tali then continued.

"I had tracked a patrol of gethto an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from it's unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core." She continued to say. He had to admit she was impressive with that much skill.

"I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defense mechanism." Anderson said.

"How did you manage to preserve it?" Shepard asked curious.

"My people created the geth. If you are quick, careful, and lucky small caches of data can sometimes be saved." Tali explained. Shepard knew then and there she was very smart. Now he just needed to know if she was better in a fight. He had seen her fight but not by much.

"Most of the core was wiped clean, but I managed to salvage this from its audio banks." Tali said as she activated her omni-tool. After a minute Saren's voice came out.

_"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." _Anderson looked like he had won the lottery.

"That's Saren's voice. This proves everything!" Anderson said excited.

"Well he's in trouble now." Shepard said.

"Wait Saren wasn't acting alone." Tali said as she continued to play the recording. This time a feminine voice played.

_"And one step closer to the return of the reapers. What of the human who attacked you though?"_

_"The Council will never believe someone from the Terminus especially if it's one of Aria's agents. Besides even if they were of Council space, they still wouldn't listen. Wouldn't want anything happening to their top spectre after all."_ Everyone in the room looked at Shepard to see his reactions. The next second they wish they never did it when they saw the downright evil smile on his face. Oh he was going to get Saren.

"I don't recognize that other voice, the one talking about Reapers." Udina said. For some reason when the word 'Reapers' was said, Shepard felt a wave of nostalgia and something else wash over him.

"I feel like I've heard that name before..." Shepard said not liking the feeling he was getting.

"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago. The Reapers hunted the protheans to total extinction, and then vanished. At least that's what the geth believe." Tali explained.

"Sounds a little far-fetched." Udina said with blatant skepticism.

"Now I understand the vision on Eden Prime. It was the protheans being wiped out by the reapers!" Shepard said finally starting to piece the puzzle together.

"The geth revere the reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. They believe Saren knows how to bring them back." Tali said.

"The Council is just going to love this." Udina said dryly.

"Tell them or not, they will never believe it unless it shows up at their door." Shepard said not believing the Council will do anything about it. He was a firm believer that all the Council could do was talk, never fight. When the krogan rebellions ended they had grown soft in these peaceful times. Hell Shepard was positive that was a factor in the First Contact War when humanity came on the scene. He knew humanity was strong, no doubt about it, but he had to look at other factors as well. That 1000 years of peace had made the Council arrogant and soft for believing that they finished things with the rebellions. Shepard was sure the took credit for the Rachni Wars to. And when humanity showed the turians believed that they could gain a new client race easily. That wasn't the case when humanity punched back and gave the turians a bloody nose, along with resentment from all the other races as well. That didn't mean Shepard didn't believe in working together with the other races. He believed that they needed to work together since each race called this galaxy their home.

"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor." Anderson said happy that he finally had something to condemn Saren.

"The Captain's right, we need to get this to the Council right away." Udina agreed.

"What about her? The quarian?" Wrex said. He was surprised when Tali whipped her head to him and showed a little backbone.

"My name is Tali!" She said in a raised voice. Wrex just grinned at her.

"Shepard you saw me in that alley. You know what I can do. Let me come with you." Tali said.

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"The Pilgrimage is to show my people how we can support one another, if I don't do anything what does that say about me?" Tali said.

"No why should I let you join in? What skills do you have to bring to the fight?" Shepard clarified. She then knew if she wanted to join, Shepard needed to know what she could do.

"I have been given hand to hand training on the Flotilla, I'm a decent shot with a pistol and a shotgun." Tali said.

"Anything else, I'm going to need more than that." Shepard said.

"I can also hack through geth defenses including firewalls, drones and other units." She added. Shepard grinned at that.

" Okay your in." Shepard said

"Thank you, you won't regret this." Tali said obviously happy.

"Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council. Take a few minutes to collect yourselves, then meet us in the tower." Udina said. With that Udina and Anderson left toward the tower.

"Come on guys I'd like to see the Council's faces when we prove them wrong." Shepard as he walked out toward the tower. Everyone soon followed him out.

At the Tower

As he walked towards the Council seats he saw Anderson.

"Come on. Udina's presenting the quarian's evidence to the Council." Anderson said.

"Great, can't wait to see their faces." Shepard said grinning. Anderson smirked at Shepard's humor as well as everyone else. As they walked up the stairs he could hear the recording playing. As he and everyone else got to the podium he took his omni-tool out and took a digital picture of their faces. Each of their faces wore a look of utter shock and outrage.

"You wanted proof? There it is." Udina said sticking is arm out smugly. The Council was incredibly shocked. They had played right into Saren's hands just as he had expected. Each of their reactions was priceless to Shepard. Tevos was in utter shock as if she hadn't even expected it. It was awesome in Shepard's mind to see the wise councilor completely thrown for a loop. With Valern, it was a look of humiliation and anger. Shepard had to guess the humiliation was from being outwitted by a turian. Shepard noticed that every race had some general thing they feel into. With turians, it was military discipline. Salarians, it was intelligence. Asari, it was more diplomacy and politics of sorts. With krogan, it was fighting. Volus, business and money. With humans, if he had to say anything, it was diversity and individuality. Finally he saw his favorite reaction which was from Sparatus. Sparatus looked so humiliated and pissed off that he could have sworn Sparatus was ready to kill someone. He was glad he had taken the picture earlier, who knows he might post it on the extranet.

"This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador." Sparatus said in a controlled tone that showed just how angry he was. He then continued on, "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, hunted down and brought to justice."

"I recognize the other voice, the one talking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia." Tevos said sounding sadden.

"Just so you know, some of us in the room don't know every politician or powerful person in the galaxy. Mind telling us who she is?" Shepard said. Tevos looked at him strangely as she regarded him as someone else, not like the others he was with.

"She is a very powerful biotic with many followers." Tevos explained. She then continued, "She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

"I'm more interested in these reapers. What do you know of them?" Valern asked.

"Only what we learned from the memory core, that they were responsible for the prothean's extiction 50,000 years ago." Anderson said.

"The geth also revere them to as their gods. With Saren being the prophet for their return." Shepard continued.

"Saren is looking for something called the Conduit. It could be a way for bringing the reapers back." Anderson finished.

"Do we even know what this Conduit is?" Valern asked.

"Would we be talking about if we did?" Shepard asked sarcastically. Then he continued seriously, "If Saren is after it, it has to be dangerous."

"Listen to what your saying! Saren wants to bring back machines that will wipe everyone out? Impossible, it has to be." Sparatus said dismissing the notion.

"We can all agree that Saren betrayed us, but what we do not know his real reason for finding the Conduit or using the geth." Tevos said in a calmer voice.

"The reapers are obviously a myth, a lie to use geth." Valern concluded.

"You should never completely dismiss something no matter how ludicrous it is. You oughta know that by now." Shepard said looking right at Sparatus.

"Very well then answer me this: Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we have found no trace of them before? We obviously would have found something before." Sparatus said smugly thinking he had upped Shepard.

"Perhaps you did find something or encountered something and didn't realize it. Possibly mistook it for prothean tech." Shepard retorted wiping of the smug look Sparatus wore. Shepard then continued, "You have doubted me before about Saren, you did not even bother to truly investigate him even."

"What are you talking about Shepard?" Tevos said.

"Earlier before the hearing, we ran into Garrus Vakarian the c-sec officer in charge of Saren's investigation. When we ran into him he was asking his superior for more time." Shepard said

"Your point being?" Sparatus said annoyed with Shepard's attitude.

"The time it took for the Normandy to get to the Citadel from Eden Prime was short. Chances are when Udina found out what happened from Anderson, he immediately petitioned that Saren be removed from the Spectres. Afterwards, when Udina called the hearing, you immediately went with it in the same day the investigation was started." Shepard explained.

"What are you saying?" Valern asked.

"What he is saying is that it you only allowed the investigation to humor us, only to stop it, sweep it under the rug and use it as an excuse to say that they didn't find anything." Udina said catching onto what Shepard was doing. Udina continued on, "If you had given c-sec more time, then you would have set the hearing later on in the week. Instead you stopped it."

"It's a good thing I told Garrus to keep going before we arrived at the hearing." Shepard stated. He then stared at all the Councilors.

"Now tell me is Saren special or is it all the same routine with your Spectres?" He asked grinning.

"Are you saying we deliberately stopped the investigation so we could keep Saren innocent?" Tevos asked him with a strained voice.

"Yea, that's exactly what I'm saying." He said bluntly. "Honestly I don't see the point with dealing you guys when you continue to sweep us under the rug, and when we do it your way you dismiss us. I swear I don't understand how Udina can deal with you guys day after day. I've only talked with you for one day and I already want to blow my brains out." Shepard ranted.

"Then what would you do if you were us?" Sparatus asked in an angry voice.

"Send your fleet in to get him." Udina said.

"It could secure an entire region and protect our colonies." Udina continued.

"Or it could start a war with the Terminus systems. We will not be dragged into a galactic war over a few dozen human colonies!" Sparatus growled out.

"Sounds fun." Shepard said gaining the attention from everyone. He then turned to Anderson, "Anderson, I'll be taking my leave now and I'm changing the price." He said. Everyone, but Ashley and Kaidan looked confused.

"What is it now?" Anderson said sweating a bit. Was Shepard going to up the price?

"It's free now." Shepard simply said. Anderson was now shocked.

"In case your wondering why, it's because I no longer have to do this. I need to do this. So don't worry, I'll personally stop Saren." Shepard said to Anderson. This garnered some raised brows from everyone. Then Sparatus let out a humorless chuckle.

"Do you really think you can take on Saren with what he has now, human?" Sparatus said as if he was insulted that Shepard could even think he has a chance against turian ex-spectre.

"Yep, you doubted me before and look how it came back and bit you in the ass." Shepard said.

"What did you say?" Sparatus growled to him.

"You heard me! You can help me by either backing me up or standing aside. Or just be quite." Shepard said with no fear at all. That was when Nihlus walked up.

"Councilors if may make a suggestion?" Nihlus said.

"What is it Spectre Nihlus?" Valern asked

"I believe it would be best to have Shepard inducted into the Spectres." Nihlus stated. Everyone looked at him in total shock.

"Why would a turian want a human in the spectres?" Ashley asked.

"Not all of us resent your species. Some of us see the potential in your species, what humanity can bring to the galaxy." Nihlus explained.

"Why me?" Shepard asked.

"Yes why him?" Udina repeated. He would prefer humanity's first spectre actually be part of the alliance.

"Shepard the Council has been looking into for some time now. Personally I believe you fit the bill for a spectre. You are proficient in all attacks and defenses including guns, biotics and tech attacks. You plan ahead or in the heat of battle perfectly. Not to mention your accomplishments over the years. On Elysium you held of an enemy assault single-handed. You showed remarkable courage and skill. Not many could've survived what you went through on Akuze. There you showed a remarkable will to live, a particularly useful talent. On Torfan, you showed a commitment to your mission no matter the cost." Nihlus said pointing out the qualifications.

"No, it is too soon for humanity to join the spectres!" Sparatus said.

"Sir, Saren knows all the spectres. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses. Shepard is an unknown that can take him down, but he needs the resources of spectre to do so." Nihlus said. Tevos and Valern thought it would be best to have Shepard in the spectres to at the very least to keep an eye on him. They both looked at Sparatus and he knew he lost the argument.

"Shepard step forward." Tevos said.

"Wait, I think there is someone who should know about this." Shepard said as started fiddling with his omni-tool. Everyone was curious at what he was doing until a hologram of an asari matriarch appeared in front of him. The Council was shocked when they realized it was Aria T'Loak.

"Shepard, where are you? You were supposed to be back a day ago." She said in an annoyed voice.

"Well Aria, I ran into some big trouble on Eden Prime when I was about to leave." Shepard then explained what happened from there getting to where he was now.

"So now you are going to be humanities first spectre?" Aria said looking at the Council specifically Tevos.

"I'm being offered, thought you might want in." Shepard said. Aria stood there in a thinking pose for a minute or so.

"Do it Shepard, I know you are going to go after Saren either way and with this you could finish him faster." Aria said a little annoyed that her best agent would be leaving her services.

"Don't worry Aria, I'll be back before you know it." Shepard said smirking. Aria hmphed as her hologram winked out.

"Sorry about that, I had to alert my boss and all. You know the drill." Shepard said.

"It's quite alright, that just shows your commitment to your employers." Tevos said. Shepard then walked up to the podium. All eyes were now on him.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel." Tevos said.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose action elevate them above rank and file." Valern added.

"Spectres are an ideal. A symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will." Tevos said.

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold." Sparatus continued for them.

"You are the first human spectre, Shepard. This is a great accomplishment you and your entire species." Tevos finished.

"Thank you, Councilors. So what now?" Shepard said.

"We are sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him." Valern said.

"Any leads or clues to his location?" Shepard asked.

"We will forward any relevant information to Ambassador Udina." Sparatus replied.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned." Tevos said finishing the conversation. Everyone left the Chambers then. Shepard saw Anderson walk up to him and shook his hand.

"Congradulations, Ghost." Anderson said.

"We've got a lot of work to do Shepard. You need a ship, a crew, supplies..." Udina listed off.

"You'll get access to special equipment and training now. You should go down to the c-sec academy and speak to the Spectre Requisitions officer." Anderson added.

"Anderson, come with me. I'll need your help to set all this up." Udina said as the 2 walked off.

"Well I'm heading toward the Spectre Requisitions officer Anderson mentioned. Shepard then headed down to the academy with everyone following him since they didn't know what to do. On the way over he passed Fist's files to Emily Wong who was looking for anything that could be a good story. When he entered the academy he saw who he was looking for.

"Hey I going need some armor and weapons." Shepard said.

"Alright let just run you through our system...Wait this can't be right. It's saying offer you our select stock. Spectre?" the turian said.

"Yep." Shepard said.

"I heard about that." the guy responded.

"Let's see what ya got." Shepard said. When Shepard saw what was on the market he grinned like a madman.

"Hey guys, go find Udina and Anderson. Get the brief from them and get on whatever ship we are using." When they left Ashley said she would send him the location of where they would meet up.

At the docks

Anderson and Udina were waiting. Shepard's team was already onboard the Normandy and now they were waiting for the man himself.

"Anderson I'm beginning to think Shepard ditched us." Udina said losing whatever faith he had in Ghost.

"He'll be here Udina. When he commits to something, he fully commits. Just look at that business with the slavers a few years back." Anderson said.

"True." Udina said. That was when they heard the elevator beep. They both turned around to see Shepard in a new outfit with new weaponry. He had changed out of his N7 heavy armor and into Colossus X armor. His rifle was now replaced with a HMWA Master X. His sniper was replaced with a HMWSR Master X. His shotgun had been replaced with a HMWSG Master X. Finally his pistol was now a HMWP Master X. All in all Shepard looked like he was ready to go to war. They also noticed Shepard had a big crate he was having transported to the Normandy.

"You really look like a spectre now Shepard. What was with the crate though?" Anderson asked curious.

"The crate was holding the armor that was the same brand as mine but for my team, plus weapon and armor mods. Any other gadgets like bio-amps and omni-tools too. If we are fighting an army of geth we are going to need all we can get." Shepard responded. Anderson and Udina knew that Shepard was going to do everything he could to make sure they could stop Saren.

"How much did it cost?" Udina asked knowing it was very expensive.

"Too damn much, I hope it's worth it." Shepard said with a cloud over his head, depressed that it cost him so much. This caused the 2 men to smirk at Shepard.

"Okay Shepard I have big news for you. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. She's your's now." Udina said.

"She's quick and quiet. The crew respects you. Perfect ship for a spectre. Treat her well, Shepard." Anderson said.

"I have to admit Anderson, I feel like I'm stealing the ship from you, don't worry I'll take great care of her and the crew." Shepard said. Anderson smiled at Shepard. He knew when Shepard said the crew, he was a real leader.

"I know you will Shepard." Anderson said.

"Any leads?" Shepard asked.

"Currently one, Matriarch Benezia, the other voice in the recording? She has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in protheans." Udina said. He then continued, "We don't know if she is involved, but it would be a good idea to try and find her. See what she knows. Her name is Dr. Liara T'soni."

"Location?" Shepard asked.

"We have reports she was studying an archaeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau Cluster." Udina said.

"Looks like I'm starting there then." Shepard said

"Your a spectre now Shepard, you don't answer to us." Anderson said.

"But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up." Udina said eyeing Shepard.

"Don't worry, I'll try to keep it to a minimum, Udina." Shepard said with his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Good, now I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson will answer any questions you have. Good day." Udina said as he walked away.

"To you as well." Shepard replied as he left. He then turned to Anderson.

"So what's the real reason your doing this? Furthermore what happened between you and Saren?" Shepard asked. Anderson then told him what happened. After hearing it, Shepard was more driven to go after Saren now.

"Don't worry Anderson, I'll give him a good kick to the crotch for you when I see him." Shepard said. Anderson smirked at Shepard and nodded as he left. After Anderson went down the elevator, Shepard walked toward the Normandy, ready to begin his mission.


	7. Explanation

Announcement: Hey everyone! Reviewer543 here. Listen, I've got some things to say. Don't worry, **NOT** quitting writing this story anytime soon. It's just I won't be able to start writing the next chapter at least until next week on Monday. Family coming over and my aunt is getting married over the weekend. So I'm telling you, no new chapters until Wednesday at the soonest. Now to the guest(s) who keep making reviews of my story, thank you very much for those. I always love it to see a new review each time. It makes my heart soar everytime I see my views on either story go up. The latest chapter posting almost gave me heart-attack with how many rolled in. I need reviews to know if my viewers are getting bored or have any ideas in mind for my story. Mass effect 1 is probably going to be my most difficult one I write because I haven't played it as much as the other ones, so if any of you readers have any thoughts or advice to throw my way, please go ahead. Flamers too, I don't expect every review to be nice. Pleasant reading to everyone and have a good day.


	8. Preparation 1

Recap: "Don't worry Anderson, I'll give him a good kick to the crotch for you when I see him." Shepard said. Anderson smirked at Shepard and nodded as he left. After Anderson went down the elevator, Shepard walked toward the Normandy, ready to begin his mission.

Now

Shepard had let the decontamination process run its course. Right now he was thinking of how to address the crew since he was now in command of the Normandy. If he had to be honest, he was a little nervous. The only other crew he had was Isaac and he controlled mechs to help keep things running on the Judgement. A beep had brought him out of his thoughts when the decontamination process had finished. He was still clad in his Colossus armor when he walked in. He immediately went right to Joker.

"Hey Joker." Shepard greeted. Joker turned to him.

"Hey Shepard, I heard what happened to Captain Anderson. Survives a hundred battles, and then gets taken out by backroom politics." Joker said a little glum. Shepard couldn't blame him. He kind of wished Anderson were here too. That was when Joker spoke again.

"Watch your back Shepard cause if this mission goes bad, your next on their chopping block." Joker said warning him. Shepard knew he was right about that. That was how politics worked. They can swallow you up and you won't be seen every again. Then Shepard smirked.

"Well, I won't make it easy on them if that happens. They'll have to catch me first." Shepard said grinning. Joker looked at him shocked.

"You think you can out run the Council?" Joker asked incredulous.

"Yea, if the Shadow Broker couldn't find out who I was until I let him, they damn well won't catch me until its too late." Shepard said. Joker looked at him shocked until he finally got his bearings.

"I have to admit Joker, I kinda feel like I'm stealing Anderson's ship." Shepard said a little nervous at what the crew's reaction is to him.

"Don't worry Shepard. While you may not know all of us, we definitely know you. Everyone here is behind you 100%." Joker said. That reaction relieved Shepard a lot.

"Thanks Joker." Shepard said as he started to walk away. He only got 2 steps until Joker stopped him.

"Uh Shepard, I think that before we lift off you should say a few words to the crew on the intercom. It's open right now." Joker said pointing to the mic.

"Yea, your right about that. I really should say something." Shepard said as he walked back toward the intercom. He thought of what to say and then cleared his throat.

"This is Shepard speaking, but most of you may know me as Ghost. I'll be honest, many of you know me, but sadly I have only had the privilege of speaking to a few of you. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. I do not expect this mission to be easy, and neither should you. For too long our species has stood apart from the others. Now it's time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy! Time to show them what humans are made of! Our enemy knows we are coming. When we go into the Traverse, Saren's followers will be waiting for us. But we'll be ready for them, too. Humanity needs to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every other species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all... we will stop him!" Shepard said finishing his speech. He then heard the sound of clapping and whistles from everyone in the CIC. He looked back to see everyone was in agreement with him. Smiling he looked back at Joker.

"Well said, Shepard. Captain would be proud." Joker said smiling at him with respect.

"Anderson gave up everything so we could have this chance. Let's not waste it shall we." Shepard said smiling back.

"Yes Sir!" Joker said with a nod.

"Joker, plot a course to the Artemis Tau Cluster. We might find a potential link to Saren there." Shepard said as he walked away.

"You got it." Joker responded back. Shepard made his way over to the lower level while receiving appraising nods from the crew before he realized something. He quickly turned to Pressly.

"Hey uh Pressly?" Shepard asked a little embarrassed.

"Yes Sir?" Pressly said curious as to what Shepard needed to know.

"Um Where do I sleep?" Shepard asked a little sheepish about the subject. Pressly gave a raised eyebrow at the question.

"Have you ever served on a warship before? I know you owned a ship." He asked Shepard.

"I never served on a warship no." Shepard responded shaking his head.

"Well where did you sleep on your previous ship?" Pressly asked, oddly reminded at how Shepard looked like a kid with how he answered.

"In the med-bay, but I don't think Chakwas would let me sleep there unless I was injured." Shepard said. Pressly just looked at him as if he couldn't figure him out.

"You're telling me that you didn't sleep in the crew quarters of your ship and instead slept in your med-bay?" Pressly asked in a deadpanned voice.

"Yes, because if I ever got attacked by someone and I was injured in the process, I would be where I would need to be immediately." Shepard said thinking it was reasonable.

"Well, what if someone was already in there?" Pressly asked as if he was talking to a child.

"Then I would be sleeping in the pilot's chair, but I think Joker would kill me if I did that." Shepard said just knowing Joker would blow a gasket if that ever happened hear. He was sure he was right when he saw Pressly nod at that answer.

"Well Shepard since you are in command of the Normandy, you have the Captain's private quarters." Pressly said giving Shepard directions to where it was. Shepard nodded in thanks as he made his way to his new room. He had to admit it was nice as far military goes. He was about to take his armor off when he thought of something. Quickly moving around, he scanned the room with his omni-tool and found 2 bugs. He quickly opened them up and tried find where it was sending info too, but they self-destructed stopping from finding out who was watching. He had a pretty good idea of who was watching from the expensive and black looking one. Shepard grumbled 'shadow broker' as he looked at it. Then he was wondering who the second one belong to. The only indication of any organization it belonged to was the symbol of a narrow hexagon with 2 things that looked to be holding it. Shepard pondered it for awhile until Isaac brought him out to reality again.

"Wow, this place is stale." Isaac commented after taking a once over around the room.

"Well, it is a military craft after all." Shepard said back.

"True, but that is no excuse." Isaac retorted.

"Fair enough." Shepard said with no real fight in his voice as he changed out his armor and into his pitch black fatigues.

"Hey Isaac?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Are there any planets with any major prothean ruins in the Artemis Tau Cluster?" Shepard asked thinking he could narrow his search down a little.

"Let me see... Yea, only one worth mentioning is Therum in the Knossos System. Does that help?" Isaac asked.

"A bunch! Thanks Isaac." Shepard said as he made his way to the door.

"No problem Shepard." Isaac responded then quieting down when Shepard stepped through the door.

"Think it's time I have a chat with the crew." Shepard said thinking about who he should talk to first. He then looked around and noticed the elevator. He decided he might as well try it out and see where it goes.

A few minutes later

'Can this thing go any slower?!' Shepard thought driven mad by how slow the elevator was going. Finally the elevator stopped. He waited for a minute.

'Seriously!' Shepard thought thinking he should use his power strike on the damn door when finally opened.

'Thank God!' Shepard thought relieved that it opened. He then walked out and noticed Ashley, Wrex and Garrus were in the shuttle bay. He first walked over to Wrex and decided to talk with him.

"Nice ship you've got, Shepard. What can I do for you?" Wrex said as Shepard walked in front of him.

"What's your story Wrex?" Shepard asked knowing a krogan as old as Wrex had to have a few stories.

"There's no story. Go ask the quarian or turian if you want stories." Wrex said with a deadpanned face.

"Come on, you krogan live for centuries. Don't tell me you haven't had a few interesting adventures." Shepard said smirking. Wrex looked back him with an annoyed expression.

"Well there was this one time that the turians almost wiped out my entire race. That was fun." Wrex said with sarcasm. Shepard couldn't help but wince at that.

"Yeah I heard about that. I also heard that they tried to do something similar to the humans during First Contact." Shepard said.

"It's not the same." Wrex with a sharp tone.

"How is it different?" Shepard asked with a raised brow.

"Are your people infected with a genetic mutation? An infection that makes only a few in a thousand children survive birth? And I suppose it's destroying your species?" Wrex said, eyes boring into Shepard.

"Damn, your right. For what it's worth I'm sorry." Shepard said feeling a little ashamed at his ignorance. Wrex, seeing his expression, sighed.

"I don't expect you to understand, but don't compare humanity's fate with the krogan." Wrex said.

"Hey, I said sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Shepard retorted.

"Your ignorance doesn't upset me, Shepard. As for the krogan, I gave up on them a long time ago. The genophage infected us, but it isn't killing us." Wrex said looking down at the floor.

"Hey, I've always been curious about the genophage. What can you tell me about it?" Shepard asked.

"Ask the salarians for details. They made it. All I know is it makes breeding impossible. Thousands die in stillbirth, and most never get that far." Shepard knew that the genophage was bad, but he hadn't thought it would be that bad.

"Jesus Wrex that's... that's a fate worse than death." Shepard said nearly speechless at the implications. Wrex could only nod at his assessment.

"Every krogan is infected. Every one, and no one is rushing to find a cure." Wrex continued. Shepard stared at him shocked.

"The genophage won't last forever right? I mean I know the Council can be a bunch of jackasses, but they wouldn't let a race die, would they?" Shepard asked looking at Wrex. Shepard just couldn't see himself do that to any race, let alone the Council. If the batarians were going to go extinct, Shepard wouldn't let his hatred for the slavers blind him from the bigger picture. He would have helped. He saw Wrex shrug at his question in response.

"I honestly don't know, Shepard. I'm not going to hold my breath for it though." Wrex said to him. Shepard could understand that well enough.

"Why don't the krogan try to find a cure?" Shepard asked hoping that the krogan were at least trying.

"When was the last time you saw a krogan scientist?" Wrex asked him rhetorically with a raised eyebrow.

"Never." Shepard said with his head down a little.

"You ask a krogan if would rather find a cure for the genophage or fight for credits? He'll choose fighting every time. It's just who we are Shepard. I can't change that. Nobody can." Wrex said explaining things to Shepard.

"Only if you give up trying." Shepard said looking at Wrex right in the eyes. Wrex looked right back at Shepard and was silent for a little while with an unreadable expression. He then humphed at Shepard and turned his head away.

"Are your people really dying?" Shepard asked. Wrex turned right back at him when he asked that.

"We're sure not getting any stronger. We're to spread out. None of us are interested in staying in our home system." Wrex said as he paced back in forth.

"I don't understand, lots of species have left their homes and prospered." Shepard asked Wrex confused.

"But they go to colonize new worlds. We're not settlers, we're warriors and we fight. So instead we leave. Hire ourselves out and most never go back." Wrex said with a solemn voice.

"Well so long Wrex." Shepard said as a goodbye.

"Shepard." Wrex returned. Shepard was now walking toward Ashley thinking she could use a good talk. Plus this might be his chance to get to know her. As he walked over he could see that she was working maintenance on the guns. When he got close enough she started the conversation.

"Sir." Ashley said in a formal tone. Shepard couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her.

"No need for that Ashley. I have no real military rank nor do I care for such things. Just call me Shepard."

"Uh okay then Shepard." She said.

"So how do you like things here on the Normandy?" Shepard asked hoping she was okay.

"It's fine serving on a warship." She retorted.

"Okay, I was hoping that if you want to, and its cool if you don't, talk about Eden Prime." Shepard said thinking that she could need someone to vent to. He noticed that her stoic expression cracked into a saddened one.

"To be honest? I kind of wished you got there sooner, Shepard." Ash said after a minute. Shepard only nodded his head feeling like it was his fault at what she was feeling.

"No offense, I appreciate the rescue. I just wish..." She continued while looking to the side.

"That I had been able to save the rest of your team." Shepard finished for her with an understanding tone.

"Yes. If I had been more alert, we wouldn't have been cut down by an ambush." She said chastising herself.

"Listen, you didn't know it was geth in the first place. They are perfect ambushers: they don't move, make noise or even breath." Shepard said trying to lighten it up.

"Shepard, they have flashlight heads and don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." she said with a serious voice.

"Well okay I guess. Do you want to talk, you know one-to-one?" Shepard said hoping to steer the conversation in a new direction.

"I'm sorry Shepard, I have things that I need to get squared away. I wouldn't mind talking more later though." Ash said.

"Well okay then. Talk to ya later Ash." Shepard said as he began to walk away.

"Shepard wait." He heard Ash say. He turned back to her

"Yes?"

"Did you mean what you said? At the bar during your stay on Eden Prime, about my grandfather?" Ash asked with a little apprehension.

"Yes. To me he was a real leader. Someone who looks forward at the challenges in front of them, but knows to also look behind to see who follows them is a real leader to me. Your grandfather did both. He's a real hero." Shepard said as he walked away once more toward Garrus. He could have sworn he heard Ash whisper 'Thank You' as moved. He had met up with Garrus who was in front of a Mako.

"Hello Garrus." Shepard said as Garrus looked up at him.

"Hello Shepard, I wanted to thank you for bringing me on board. I knew working with a spectre would be better than life at c-sec." Garrus said back.

"Have you worked with a spectre before?"

"Well no, but I do know what they're like. Spectre's make their own rules. Basically you are free to handle things your way." Garrus said explaining the marginal view of spectre's.

"Well what's it like in c-sec?" Shepard asked. He was curious with how cops acted. On Omega, the closest thing they had for a cop was one of Aria's thugs and him. There was a huge gap between him and the former though with how they handled things. For the thug as long as it wasn't to disruptive in the club and it in no real way affected Aria, then it wasn't his problem. If the thug stepped in he could be bribed off. For Shepard, as Ghost, he would stun and drug both people involved to find out what happened. If it was self defense and depending on the assailant, Shepard would let the innocent go and scare the hell out of the other. If it was both, he scared them both. He noticed Garrus was starting to talk as he reminisced about old times.

"At c-sec? Your buried in rules, the damn bureaucrats are always on your back." Garrus said with the turian equivalent of a scowl.

"Well I can understand a little, but you know the rules are there for a reason." Shepard said having a feeling that Garrus is looking for a chance to break past the rules.

"Maybe, but sometimes it feels like the rules are only there to stop from doing my work. If I'm taking down a suspect, it shouldn't matter how I do it, as long as I do it." Garrus said. Now that set off some alarm bells in Shepard's head. Sure he had done some bad things to slavers and pirates in the past, but he tried to never let any innocents get caught in the crossfire and if he did, he would find away to get them out of it. The way Garrus was thinking involved that. He was going to have to nip that in the bud.

"But c-sec wants it done their way: Protocol and Procedure come first. That's why I left." Garrus continued on. Okay time to put a stop to that train of thought.

"So you just quit because you didn't like the way they did things?" Shepard asked trying to steer Garrus into a more decent way of thinking.

"There's more to it than that. It didn't start out bad, but as I rose up in ranks, I got more and more saddled with red tape." Okay this is where things started.

"C-sec's handling of Saren was typical. I just couldn't take it anymore. I hate leaving..." Garrus said as he seemed to be reflecting on his choices. 'Good that means he can still be brought back' Shepard surmised as he studied Garrus' movements.

"Well, I hope you made the right choice. I would hate for you to regret it later." Shepard said still trying to gouge Garrus' personality.

"Well, that's sort of why I teamed up with you. It's a chance for me to get off the Citadel and see how things are done outside of c-sec. Either way, I plan to make the most of it." Garrus said. 'So he is eager and willing to learn huh? I can work with that.' Shepard thought to himself smiling.

"And without c-sec HQ looking over my shoulder, well, maybe I can get the job done my way for a change." Garrus said smirking in anticipation. And now Shepard's smile disappeared.

"Look Garrus, I'm all for using some unorthodox tactics when it comes to the bad guys, but if getting the job done means endangering innocent people, then forget it. We get it done the right way, not the fast way. Understand?" Shepard lectured. Garrus' eyes went wide at that.

"I wasn't trying to- yes. I understand, Shepard." Garrus said realizing what he had implied.

"Okay well then, see you Garrus. I'm going to talk with Tali now." Shepard said as he turned toward the cargo bay waving back. As Shepard made his way in he saw an older man in formal suit walking toward him. Then stuck his hand out and Shepard shook his hand.

"Hello, Sir. I'm Chief Engineer Adams. I keep the engine going with my team." Adams said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Adams. The name's Shepard, or Ghost if you prefer." Shepard said being polite.

"Likewise Sir. Uh hey, you know the quarian? Tali? She's been spending all her time down here asking about our engines." Adams said looking at Shepard with an inquisitive look.

"Is there a problem?" Shepard asked, hoping there wasn't one.

"What? No! She's amazing! I wish my guys were half as smart as she is. Give her a month on board and she'll know more about the engines then I do!" Shepard released a breath he had been holding in. It was good that one of the major crewman had high praise for one of the new members.

"She's got a real knack for technology, that one. I can see why you brought along." Adams continued on, oblivious to Shepard's relief.

"I figure she would be a real asset to the team." Shepard responded.

"You have an eye for talent, Shepard. But I guess your not down here for a conversations huh?" Adams said.

"Actually, I'm getting to know the crew. Figured that if I'm it's captain, temporary or otherwise, I should make an effort in knowing my crew." Shepard explained.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" Adams asked gently smiling at Shepard's effort to get know everyone.

"Well uh how about the Normandy? What do you know about her?" Shepard asked trying to break the ice.

"She's the best ship I ever served on. Probably the fastest vessel ever designed and she's the only using the Tantalus drive core." Adams said.

"What's so special about the drive core?" Shepard asked curious.

"Proportionally, it's about twice the size of any other vessel. Not only are we faster, but we can run at FTL speeds longer before we have to discharge the core." Adams explained.

"What about the stealth system?" Shepard asked.

"You can't hide a ship out in space. They emit too much heat and radiation. Too easy for sensors to pick up. Unless you find a way to capture those emissions." Adams explained. Shepard realized the secret. The plans the batarian's stole all those years ago were the same plans that were now instilled into the Normandy.

"So our stealth system traps the energy we give off in storage sinks built into the ship itself. No emissions to give away our location. Eventually the sinks have to be vented. More than a few hours silent running and they overheat. Cook us inside our own hull." Adams continued to explain.

"So there is no way for anyone to detect us?" Shepard asked trying to get to know.

"A visual scan can still pick us up. Anyone looking out a window could see us as plain as day, but you have a to be pretty close to get an actual visual out in space." Adams continued on. Shepard nodded in understanding.

"Go on." Shepard said.

"As long as the stealth systems are engaged, they can't see us. Not unless we accelerate to FTL." Adams explained.

"Why doesn't it work with faster than light travel?" Shepard asked.

(You know what? I'm skipping this!)

"Well thanks for the info Adams. See ya." Shepard said as he walked toward Tali. He finally got to her when she started talking to him.

"Your ship's amazing Shepard! I've never seen a drive core like this before. I can't believe they were able to fit it into a ship this small." Tali said all giddy.

"Yeah I can understand why." Shepard said agreeing with her.

"I'm starting to understand why you humans have been so successful. I had no idea Alliance vessels were so advanced!" Tali continued on.

"From what I understand the Normandy is a prototype. Cutting edge technology." Shepard said trying to make conversation.

"(Giggles) A month ago, I was patching a makeshift fuel line into a converted tug ship in the flotilla. Now I'm on board one of the most advanced vessels in Citadel space." Tali said. Unlike everyone else, Shepard could see her expressions through her mask. So he could see the beautiful smile on her face.

"I have to thank you again for bringing me along. Traveling on a vessel like this is a dream come true for me." Tali said happily.

"Well it's nice to see you smiling and happy Tali." Shepard then saw her get embarrassed at his words even blushing.

"Thank you, Shepard." Tali said shyly rubbing her fingers together.

"So, I had no idea you found ship tech so interesting." Shepard said after a long silence.

"It comes with being a quarian. The Migrant Fleet is the key to the survival of my people. Ships are our most valuable resource. Sadly we don't have anything like this. We make do with cast-offs and second-hand equipment. We just try to keep them running for as long as we can. Some of our fleets larger vessels date back to our original flight from the geth." Tali explained to him. Now Shepard was looking at her shocked.

"If your fleet is using ships that are 3 centuries old, you're going to have to teach me how make it last." Shepard said wanting to learn more.

"(Giggles) I'm afraid any lessons I can give you on ships would be unnecessary, unless its with hacking. Anyway, our ships are constantly being repaired, modified and refitted. They aren't pretty, but they work. Mostly." Tali told him. 'Well nothing's perfect, I'll take what I can get.' Shepard thought to himself.

"We've tried to make ourselves as independent as possible on the flotilla. Grow our own food, mine and process our own fuel." Tali listed off.

"The more you talk about it the more I admire you and your people." Shepard said smiling. He saw a brief smile cross her face and then vanished.

"But some things we just can't make on our own. A patch to maintain the hull integrity requires raw materials we just don't have. That's why our Pilgrimages are so important." Tali told him. Shepard then realized that the Pilgrimage was more than a right of passage, it was a means of keeping the Fleet running as well.

"Well Tali, tell me more about your people and the Pilgrimage." Shepard said. And so Tali told him everything ranging from her people's government to her pilgrimage. All in all he found it very informative to say the least. By the end of it he had a new found respect for the quarian people.

"Well Tali thank you for talking with me. It was nice having a conversation with you." Shepard said as he walked away.

"See you later, Shepard." Tali said as she got back to work. Shepard then walked toward the med-bay, taking the elevator (From Hell) back up. When he entered, he met with Doctor Chakwas.

"Hey crazy lady!" Wrong thing to say. Especially when she pulled out the scalpel and lemon juice needle.

"It was a joke! Come on!" Shepard said in hysterics. She put the things away with that.

"Shepard could you come over here? You need to see something." Chakwas said seriously.

"If it's a baby thermometer forget it." Shepard said keeping his distance. She gave him a glare in turn.

"No it's your blood work I took when you were unconscious you numb skull! Now look at it!" She ordered. He walked over to the monitor and noticed the differences in his DNA.

"What is that?" Shepard asked in a whisper.

"Genetic modifications and I'm guessing you didn't know until now?" Chakwas asked him.

"I always had suspicions that this might be the case but I didn't really expect it. Do you know when this happened?" Shepard asked trying to figure this out.

"From what I can tell, it was present when you were a baby." Chakwas said quietly. Shepard froze at that. 'Did mom know? What does all this mean? No, no I can't let this compromise who I am. It has been with me since I was a baby so its no big deal. But how did it get there? Who put it there?' All these things were zooming around in his head until Chakwas snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Do you think your parents could have something to do with it? If this was illegal genetic modification then one of them might know." Chakwas said.

"Well we can't ask mom since she's been dead for 18 years now." Shepard said dryly. Chakwas flinched at what he said. She was mentally kicking herself for bringing that up.

"What of your father?" She asked hoping it wasn't a sore subject.

"Never met him. From what mom told me when I was little, he wasn't worth meeting." Shepard said in a dead tone. Now Chakwas mentally beating the hell out of herself. Of course the Ghost of the Terminus would have serious issues. Any one who goes up against a criminal organization alone willingly would!

"Sorry Shepard." Chakwas apologized. He looked at her seeing her saddened expression.

"Look you didn't know, so there is nothing to feel guilty about. See ya around." Shepard said as he walked out. 'What am I?' He thought to himself. He then made his way up the stairs and over to the CIC where he moved toward the cockpit to talk to Joker. When he finally arrived he spoke with Joker.

"Hey Joker, are we there yet?" Shepard asked still reeling from the DNA bombshell.

"We are coming up to the cluster in a few minutes. Do you know the system or planet we should go to? You know so we don't spend all week looking through system after system, planet after planet?" Joker said.

"Yeah, Therum in the Knossos System." Shepard said in a tired voice.

"Oh you got both? Well awesome, now if only we knew where on the planet we should be looking at." Joker said.

"Any part of the planet that has a big amount of prothean ruins." Shepard said.

"You have an answer for everything don't you?" Joker said smirking.

"I wish I did." Shepard said. Sensing something was wrong with Shepard Joker turned around to see Shepard looking as if he had one hell of a rough night.

"God, Shepard what happened? Did you get into a fight with that krogan we have on board, whats his name? Wrex!" Joker said worrying about Shepard.

"No, just got some shell shocking news. Nothing to worry about. I'm going to go meet up with the team." Shepard said walking away. Joker looked on worrying about what could have affected Shepard like that.

A Few Minutes Later

Shepard and the ground team were now in the shuttle bay with Shepard right beside the crate he had brought on board and everyone else was in front of him.

"Okay everyone, while we were on the Citadel I noticed that even though we have decent armor and weapons, Saren and his minions would still outclass us. So I took the liberty of buying all of us Colossus armor X-series. As well as modifications that improve our shield generators, shield recovery, toxin resistance, and even heal us while in a fight. For those of us who use omni-tools I bought several Savant omni-tools, also X-series. For our biotics, I bought several Bio-Amps also Savants X-series. As for weapons, apparently you need to be a certified spectre to use these otherwise you could be arrested on sight. But I can give you my old weapons which are also X-series. They all have the mods that allow them to shoot more and with greater accuracy, as a bonus they are all equipped with the highest quality tungsten rounds I could my hands on. My own weapons have the same modifications. Now Ash you get my Kovlayov assault rifle. Kaidan, my Karpov pistol. Garrus, my Volkov sniper rifle. Wrex and Tali, both of my Sokolov shotguns. I know these weapons will help you greatly on this mission. With that please equip yourselves." After he said all of that, everyone made their way over to the now open crate getting their armor, omni-tools, bio-amps and whatever modifications they preferred to use. By the end of it Shepard and his team where all in Colossus X-series armed to the teeth. Joker called in over the intercom saying that they were now approaching the drop point and that they should all get ready.

"Alright people, into the mako! Let's go move it!" Shepard ordered as he felt the ship shutter from entering the atmosphere. With the last one in he jumped into the drivers seat and prepared to do his first real combat drop.

Whew! Tell me what you think of the story so far ! If you have any ideas send them over. Any flames go ahead.


	9. Therum

Recap: "Alright people, into the mako! Let's go move it!" Shepard ordered as he felt the ship shutter from entering the atmosphere. With the last one in he jumped into the drivers seat and prepared to do his first real combat drop.

Now

The Normandy was now heading in low for the drop off. Her garage doors opened and the mako with Shepard and his squad came tumbling out. As the mako fell hundreds of meters down, the thrusters were ignited to slow it down. On the inside, things were a little more lively with the squad's reactions.

"AAAHHH!" Tali screamed, holding onto Kaidan, since it was her first combat drop. Kaidan in return was looking like he was about to pass out from being crushed.

"WOOOHOOO!" Shepard whooped as they went down.

Wrex was asleep, snoring as the whole thing went down.

Garrus and Ashley were holding onto their seats for dear life trying desperately not to laugh at Tali crushing Kaidan. They finally touched down with a few thuds. Tali was shaking like a leaf, Wrex was now awake and looking around, Kaidan was desperately trying to fill his lungs with precious oxygen, while Ash and Garrus were dying of laughter. With all this going around, Shepard was going "Let's go again, let's go again!"

"NO!" Tali and Kaidan shouted at him for obvious reasons.

"Aww" Shepard groaned at their reaction. Ash, Garrus and now Wrex were chuckling at Shepard's expression. Joker's voice cut through their chuckling however.

"Shepard, I'm picking up some strange readings. Really strange, like off the damn charts. It looks like it's coming from an underground complex a few klicks away from the drop zone." Joker said.

"Looks like we have a location now. Awesome, thanks Joker." Shepard as he began driving. After a few minutes passed, along with a lot of bumping into various potholes and ditches, Shepard's squad decided to voice their thoughts.

"Dammit Shepard where did you learn to drive?!" Garrus said after hitting his head for the fifth time on the inside of the mako.

"On Omega, when I stole my first car at 16." Shepard said casually. Now every one of his squad was looking at him as if he was creepy. Shepard noticed that they were all silent so he turned around to see all their shocked faces.

"What?" Shepard asked as he turned back to watch where he was going. Garrus then spoke first.

"You were a criminal?" He said in a even tone.

"No, not when you are on Omega. Stealing a car on Omega is pretty much stealing from a another thief, especially if it's a good car." Shepard explained.

"What kind of car was it?" Tali asked her quarian engineering senses tingling. Shepard pondered it for a while then responded.

"It was an X3M skycar. I stole it from one of the local drug lords so it was pretty new. After that I modified it a lot." Shepard said. Now Tali was wanting know what he did to modify it.

"What did you add to it?" Tali asked eagerly.

"Well, I gave it a new paint job, added a stealth and camouflage system into it. Made sure it had a comm link with an ID Disguiser, tinted windows that can take all different kinds of rounds except missiles or rockets. Also even added armor and weapons too. Also a chip to make it go faster." Shepard listed off about his car. He figured Tali was drooling at the thought of seeing his car when he told her that.

"Shepard could you show it to me some time? Please?" Tali said sweetly. There it was!

"Ehh, I'll think about it." Shepard said smirking at her.

"Damn Shepard! Stealing, taking on slavers, becoming a millionaire and becoming somewhat famous in the galaxy. What haven't you done?" Kaidan asked.

"Well, I haven't saved the galaxy from huge enough threat." Then Shepard snorted. "Yea like that'll ever happen." Shepard said shaking his head. (Yea keep thinking like that Shepard) Everyone silently agreed with him.

"Well Shepard I don't thi-" Ash began to say till the mako was rocked by something.

"What the hell?!" Ash said. Shepard looked around for any sign of where the attack came from and noticed something further away. A light suddenly appeared from it, then 2 others from the left side of it and they seemed to be getting bigger. Tali must have seen them as well.

"Geth turrents!" she exclaimed. Shepard hit the thrusters just in time to dodge the shots which flew under them.

"Someone get on the gun and return fire!" Shepard said as they landed. Ash had immediately hopped on it and used the mass accelerator cannon, but missed. Shepard dodged several more geth shots while Ashley kept firing and missing. Garrus then moved her out of it and tried his turn with the cannon and scored perfectly. He did it again with the other 2.

"Whew, damn gun could use some calibrating still." Garrus said as he turned and saw Ash giving him a look.

"Sorry Williams, it's just I thought I should have a go at it." Garrus said as she relented with it.

"It's fine Garrus, I guess you should use the cannon." Ash said after a minute. That was when Shepard cut in.

"Okay, here's how things are going to go while in the Mako: Garrus uses the cannon since he is more precise while Ash uses the machine gun since sustained rapid fire weaponry is her forte, Tali and Kaidan will do any repairs necessary while Wrex rides shotgun with me in case we need someone to go outside and beat the hell out of something. Seem fair?" Shepard said explaining their new stations. Everyone nodded since it did play to there strengths. With that everyone continued on in the mako, encountering groups of geth, including armatures, and geth turrents until they came up to something. It was a stonghold of some kind that had 3 geth turrents right in front of it.

"Only a fool punches a nathak in the mouth. We should sneak around and pull its tail." Wrex said looking at the turrents in front of them.

"Yea lets go around through this way on the right." Shepard said as he drove to the path going around the stronghold only to come face to with a geth turrent. They quickly used the cannon and the machine gun to destroy it. They then made their way to the point where they could see the inside of the stronghold.

"Look at all the geth." Shepard said seeing a few troopers and Juggernauts.

"Yea and they have a lot cover to use." Garrus said seeing the places inside that could provide cover.

"Any ideas on what to do?" Ashley asked.

"Why don't we just fly in there, guns blazing?" Wrex said.

"You mean drive in there, get out of the mako and start shooting at every geth insight?" Kaidan said deadpanned.

"Yes." Wrex said with an excited nod.

"I got a better idea." Shepard said gunning the accelerator. The mako charged right into the open, running over geth troopers. Ashley turned the machine gun on further geth away. Then when the machine gun overheated, Garrus took over with the cannon and shot any Juggernauts, completely destroying them. As the fighting ended, Shepard got out and went to activate the door leading further out. He then got back in the mako and drove everyone out of the stonghold. They continued on fighting more geth units of several kinds. Shepard's sixth sense picked up on something.

"Something big is up there." Shepard said sensing a lot of electric energy in one spot.

"How do you know? The scanners don't say anything." Tali said confused as to why Shepard said that. He looked at her for a second and realized that she wasn't with him when he told everyone about his sixth sense.

"I have an ability to sense a sizable amount of electric or biotic energy. If geth units, or powerful biotics, are close enough I can sense them. From this distance though it has to be big for a geth if I can sense it from here." Shepard explained to her. Like everyone else before she was shocked at how strange Shepard was. He then continued.

"Tali, you know the geth better than any of us. Is there anything big for the geth that it generates a huge amount electricity needed to power itself?" Shepard asked her. Tali pondered it for a few seconds thinking of what kind of geth tech could use a lot of power.

"If I had to guess I would think it'd either be a geth colossus or a geth drop ship." She said.

"We've seen a drop ship, but what does a colossus look like?" Wrex asked. Everyone nodded their heads wanting to know as well.

"Do you remember the armatures we took out earlier?" Tali asked them.

"Yea." Wrex said for everyone.

"A colossus is a bigger, stronger version of that." Tali said.

"Well, its a good thing we are in this then." Wrex said. Shepard could only nod as they drove forward and sure enough they came face to face with a Colossus.

"Damn, that better be the biggest ground unit the geth have otherwise we might be in trouble." Kaidan said aloud. Before anyone else could say anything Shepard floored the mako right at the Colossus.

"What are you doing Shepard?!" Ash yelled out.

"Giving us an opening!" Shepard yelled back. He drove the mako to dodge the energy balls the colossus shot at them and rammed it, knocking it over.

"Fire everything!" Shepard told ordered. As soon as they heard that, Garrus and Ashley unloaded everything until both weapons overheated. In the end, the colossus was down for good riddled with bullet holes. Shepard then drove into the nearby tunnel when Kaidan decided to speak up.

"So Shepard why were you on vacation anyway?" he said trying to make idle conversation.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"Well I just thought guys like you do not really take vacations, they just go home and take a few days off." Kaidan explained.

"Oh that? Well I needed to get off Omega for a while and Aria offered me some time away." Shepard said.

"Why did you need to get off? Bounty Hunters?" Ashley asked. Wrex looked at her with an annoyed stare.

"No." Shepard said.

"Assassins?" Garrus asked.

"Nope." Shepard responded.

"Alliance Recruiters?" Kaidan spoke up.

"No, if it was them, they would be the ones leaving." Shepard said.

"Then what?" Tali asked.

"Bad break up." Shepard said simply. When he said that, all of them had their full attention on him. Light shined back into the mako as they came out of the tunnel.

"What?" Wrex asked this time.

"I went on vacation because I was depressed about my girlfriend and I breaking up." Shepard said simply.

"Wow, she must be something if you and her were together." Kaidan said wondering who could've gotten Shepard to be in a relationship. Ashley and Tali were both relieved and slightly jealous when they heard about this woman.

"Yea she was." Shepard said simply.

"So who broke up with who?" Ash asked bluntly. Shepard didn't speak for a full minute causing everyone, even Wrex to worry about him. Ash was about to say he didn't have to say anything when he spoke up again.

"She broke up with me." Shepard said with voice holding his sadness.

"What! Why?!" Tali blurted out.

"I honestly don't know." Shepard said.

"Did you 2 fight a lot?" Kaidan asked.

"No."

"Were you too clingy?" Ash asked.

"No that was her actually."

"Did you abuse her?" Garrus asked staring intently at Shepard.

"Never!" he snapped causing Garrus to apologize.

"Did you both mate a lot?" Wrex asked. Everyone but Shepard looked at him. Shepard was blushing a little though.

"Yes." Shepard said in a soft voice.

"With each other?" Wrex continued.

"Yes." Shepard said looking offended.

"Did you cheat?" Wrex asked.

"Completely faithful."

"She might have cheated on you." Wrex said.

"Thought of it, asked her mother since she has a lot influence and ears on Omega. So that's a no." Shepard said. Wrex hmmed for a minute.

"Blackmail?" Wrex offered.

"Checked it, nothing."

Wrex then looked thoughtful again for a few minutes with everyone looking to see what he came up with next.

"Wait you said her mother had a lot of influence on Omega?" Wrex asked.

"Yes."

"The only other thing I can think of is that she might have been pregnant and broke up with you to protect you." Wrex said. Shepard slammed on the brakes hard when he heard that. So hard that Wrex hit his head on the metal dashboard and everyone else was disoriented, save Shepard. Shepard slowly turned his head over in Wrex's direction with Wrex seeing Shepard's stare. Everyone else noticed and were a little scared for Shepard and Wrex. Shepard because this news was serious and Wrex because Shepard could snap and kill him. Their fears were unwarranted when Shepard spoke up.

"Okay after this Saren business is over I'm making a b-line to Omega and finding out what the hell happened." Shepard said as he started driving again. Everyone was silent as he continued to drive on noticing how deep in thought he was. Ash and Tali were both staring at him, worrying about what he could find out. Both women were also jealous of the woman who Shepard was in a relationship with and were relieved and mad at the woman to. Tali had a little crush on him since he had saved her and was nice to her in comparison to how others treated quarians. To her, Shepard was something special. For Ash, she had started to get stirrings when he seemed to be not as strict as other people were when they found out who her family was. In fact he showed he thought of it in a positive way. She also noticed that Shepard had way about talking to others easily as well as being concerned for everyone, with himself being last on the list. Plus he had a nice body she couldn't help but admire so that was a bonus. But for now it wasn't any real romantic feelings for him, not yet anyway. After driving for a little while longer and encountering a few more pockets of geth, they came up to an obstruction.

"There is no way we are going to drive the mako through or over it." Garrus said seeing the rock that blocked them.

"Yea, only way through it is on foot." Shepard said putting his helmet on.

"What's with the helmet Shepard?" Kaidan asked noticing it.

"The way I see it, we're going to go through a narrow passage that doesn't have a lot of room to maneuver through, and there could be geth on the other side. I don't know about you, but I want all my bases covered." Shepard said. After hearing that everyone, but Tali put there helmets on thinking it was a good idea to follow Shepard's lead. Even Wrex did it even though it wouldn't kill him if the geth got him in the head, it would still hurt like hell. Everyone exited the mako with their weapons out.

"Okay Wrex I want you in front of everyone when we go through. Garrus your in the back to take out any long range targets. Ash, your behind Wrex to take out any closer targets. Tali and Kaidan, you 2 stick together and provide support for Wrex and Ashley." Shepard said taking out his sniper rifle.

"And what will you do Shepard?" Tali asked tilting her head in curiosity.

"Me? I'll be testing out my new sniper with Garrus." Shepard said holding his sniper out to emphasize his point.

"Oh, okay." Tali said nodding in agreement.

"If I didn't know any better Shepard, I'd say your scared." Wrex said teasingly. Shepard just smirked at him.

"Believe me Wrex, I wish I was the one going first, you heard what I did on Elysium." Shepard said. Wrex nodded at that. Then Shepard added on, "Besides, Garrus can't cover everyone and you alone. You make a big target." Shepard said smiling.

"Very funny." Wrex said. They all walked through the passage and were immediately under fire when they came out. They all took cover as they pushed on with Wrex and Ashley taking care of the ground troops with Tali and Kaidan weakening other units using overload and warp respectfully. Shepard and Garrus both saw geth snipers and rocket troopers on the towers and higher ground. Both took their shots hitting a few. One rocket trooper fired at Shepard who also fired a round, hitting the rocket which caused it to explode in mid-air. Shepard then took the second shot and nailed the geth right in front light. Garrus whistled when he saw that.

"Damn Shepard that was a nice one." he said.

"Thanks, it would've been batter if I only used one shot though." Shepard responded.

"That would be awesome." Garrus said.

"I know." Shepard said smiling. Everyone was looking at the two talking about sniper rifles and awesome shots they could use and couldn't help chuckle at them. Garrus and Shepard looked at them, noticing their laughter.

"Well, we'll talk about it later. Now let's get moving and don't let your guard down." Shepard said taking the lead, switching his sniper with his assault rifle. Everyone got serious as they followed keeping their eyes out for anything that could be waiting for an ambush opportunity. They finally came to some kind of structure that appeared to be the entrance to a mine with several platforms holding crates. That was when Shepard felt something.

"Hey hold up. I think there's a geth nearby." Shepard said carefully looking around. Everyone else looked in different directions trying to find what Shepard was sensing. Shepard then pinpointed the direction it was coming from.

"Above!" Shepard yelled as he saw a geth hopper fall and then jump to somewhere else. He and everyone tried to shoot it, but it was too quick to get a decent shot in. That was when Shepard felt a huge electric signature coming there way from behind, quickly. Shepard turned only to see a geth drop ship fly over and pass them. The ship's hangar bay opened and several geth units dropped down. Now Shepard was a little nervous as was everyone but Wrex who looked like a kid in a candy store. Shepard wasn't nervous because of the troopers or the rocket drone or even the hoppers. No it was because of the Colossus that was dropped off and they weren't in the mako.

"Take cover!" Shepard yelled out as he dove behind the nearest crate, everyone else did so too narrowly missing the storm of bullets and rockets flying at them.

"Now it's getting fun! HAHA!" Wrex said laughing.

"Glad your having a good time Wrex." Shepard said over the explosions. He then tried to come up with a decent strategy to take out the enemy. 'This amount of ground troops would be easy if it weren't for that damn Colossus. How can we take it without having to worry about the other geth though?' Shepard thought to himself. He then saw the structure to left which was easily higher than the Colossus was. 'That'll work.' Shepard thought having a plan in mind.

"Hey guys distract the geth while I sneak around and take care of the Colossus." Shepard said fiddling with his omni-tool.

"And how do plan to that Shepard?" Ashley asked.

"You'll see." Shepard said activating his tactical cloak. Now cloaked, he moved over to where the structure was and quickly climbed the ladder-like part of so he could get on top. As soon as he did he walked over to where the Colossus was standing. By that time the cloak had deactivated, but the geth where still focused on his squad. They however noticed him.

"What is he doing?" Kaidan said putting his barrier up.

"Not a clue." Wrex said as he fired off a few more shoots.

"He's not going to jump on it is he?" Tali said worried while taking cover.

"I think he just might." Garrus said using overload on a nearby hopper.

That's insane." Ashley said waiting for her new rifle to cool down. They all then noticed Shepard was holding something in his hand, a biotic light.

"What is that?" Tali asked. Everyone else saw it and realized what Shepard was up to now.

"He's going to use that move on the Colossus." Kaidan said realizing what was going to happen. Shepard had now charged up his Power Strike to its current max, indicated by it glowing almost pure white with a shallow purple aura around it. He then jumped off the platform he was on toward the Colossus and slammed the Power Strike right into the back of it. It's shields held up for a while but were quickly overwhelmed by the destructive mass effect fields within the attack. Then the metallic carapace groaned and screeched until it to was completely warped. Finally the attack hit the Colossus' core, causing the attack and it to explode sending Shepard back. When he landed he quickly looked to see everyone, including the geth, looking at him shocked. He took advantage of the situation and used his dual omni-bows to fire 2 omni-bolts at the 2 remaining geth hoppers. The other geth, turned their weapons on Shepard perceiving him to be the bigger threat. (Very true.) Shepard quickly put his barrier up in response.

"Light em up!" Shepard roared to his squad who quickly got out of their stupor and destroyed the remaining geth units who turned their backs to them. When the fight was over Shepard got up and walked over to everyone. Wrex was the first to speak.

"Shepard that was crazy." he said with everyone nodding.

"Yea I know." Shepard said with a knowing smile.

"After this we are going to have spar." Wrex said grinning. Everyone, but Shepard looked at him shock. Shepard just smiled.

"After this mission is over and I have nap, fine." Shepard said as he and Wrex walked towards the mine. Everyone looked on for a few seconds until Kaidan spoke up.

"I got 20 on Shepard." he said.

"I'll put 20 on Wrex." Garrus countered.

"I'll join in with 20 on Shepard then." Tali said not wanting to be left out.

"I guess I'll put 20 on Wrex." Ashley said feeling like she chose the wrong person to bet on. After the bets were made they ran after Shepard and Wrex who were already heading down into the mine. The group continued on until they came to an open-air walkway. That was when Shepard took out his shotgun and quickly fired over the railing hitting a sneaking geth hunter right in the head, killing it. Then 2 troopers came out of cover which were taken care of by Tali and Garrus. They continued on silently as they came to an elevator and piled in going further down into the cavern. The came to another walkway which led to another elevator going further down. As they walked over Shepard switched to his pistol and aimed ahead and fired hitting the middle one of the 3 side by side geth drones that rose up. The other 2 were shot down by Kaidan and Wrex quickly. They all then noticed a section of the prothean ruins uncovered.

"Sterile white. The protheans sure built things homey." Wrex said aloud. The other didn't really pay attention to it as they all piled into the next elevator and went down. This time though the elevator came to screeching halt and opened up midway. Shepard looked out and noticed that the walkway that should've been there was destroyed. He then jumped out with everyone following in two's keeping an eye out for anymore geth. As they continued on Shepard suddenly felt a biotic signature when they all heard a voice.

"Uh hello? Could somebody help me? Please?" the unknown feminine voice said. It sounded like it was directly below them so they walked off toward a more stable part of the walkway and came face to face with an asari floating in some kind of energy bubble.

"Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped and I need help!" the asari said a little frantic.

"I can see that. Are you alright? What happened?" Shepard asked studying the asari before him. She was beautiful for one in her younger years as far as he could tell. Yea, Shepard knew a little about the asari culture and some of things about asari themselves. It happens when your dating one and under the employ of another.

"Listen, this thing I am in is a prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. All right?" the asari asked.

"I'm guessing your Dr. Liara T'Soni?" Shepard asked.

"Um yes, how did you-" Liara tried to say until Shepard started asking more questions.

"How did you end up in there anyway?" Shepard asked. Liara stuttered a bit before answering.

"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid here. Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil!" Liara explained

"Yea we ran into them on the way over." Shepard said, then he gestured her to continue on.

"I activated the towers defenses. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please." Liara said pleadingly.

"Before I do anything I have to know something." Shepard said.

"What is it?" Liara asked confused.

"Your mother is working with Saren. Whose side are you on?" Shepard asked eyes boring into her.

"What are you talking about? I'm not on anybody's side!" Liara said a little shocked.

"Really." Shepard stated.

"I may be Benezia's daughter, but I'm nothing like her! We haven't spoken to each other in years. Please, just get me out of here." Liara pleaded again. Shepard stared at her trying to find any deception, but found none. He then smiled.

"Okay then. Well, Liara it looks like this ruin is some kind of prison to me so we are going to need to find a way through or under it." Shepard said stating what he was thinking. Then he started powering up his Power Strike all the up again.

"Uh Shepard? I don't that'll work here." Garrus said. Shepard looked at everyone.

"I would suggest you back up." Shepard said. They all scrambled to get a good distance away from him. Liara looked shocked at what he was doing.

"Wait what are you going to do?!" Liara demanded getting scared of the apparently crazy human in front of her.

"Don't worry sweetie, just be quiet and watch." Shepard said smiling as he drove his attack at the barrier in front of him. The barrier and the Power Strike clashed in a brilliant display of light. Shepard's attack was strong as the barrier started to ripple at the amount of force it was dealing with from the unnatural biotic attack, but held strong. This continued for a minute until the barrier finally won and caused Shepard's Power Strike to explode the shockwave sending him back 3 yards away.

"Damn, that barrier's tough. I can see why the geth haven't broken through it yet." Shepard said getting up with everyone coming back.

"W-W-What was that? I haven't seen anyone, not even Matriarchs do that! And they're the most powerful biotics in the galaxy!" Liara said in shock at the move she just witnessed. In her hundred and six years of life, she had never seen anyone even speak of an attack like that, let alone use it. She knew not even a mass accelerator round from a tank could cause the barrier curtain to flash, let alone make it ripple. Yet somehow this human used a biotic technique that did it. A move like that was incredibly dangerous. Not even the asari had ever made anything like it. The closest thing to it would have been reave, but only a few could ever learn to use it. How interesting that this human had this ability.

"Oh my Power Strike?" She heard the human say. It was called Power Strike? An appropriate name for it. She nodded at his question. "I got the idea for it one day when I used warp and singularity against a Thresher Maw to scare it off with the resulting biotic explosion." the human, Shepard, said. She urged him to go on.

"I'll explain it later after we get you out of there." Shepard said finally getting up. Liara mentally slapped her head for forgetting what was going on.

"It's a prothean barrier curtain. I knew it would keep me safe from the geth. But obviously I'm trapped now." She said a little embarrassed at the situation.

"Any ideas?" Shepard asked.

"There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part. The defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here." Liara explained to them.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way around it." Shepard reassured her. She couldn't help but smile at him.

"Be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier." Liara warned.

"Don't worry we 'have one to. Bigger and tougher probably." Shepard said jerking his thumb towards Wrex who nodded grinning. They then went further into the cavern where they came face to face with more geth. It wasn't a lot so it was easy to finish them. That was when Shepard noticed the huge mining laser pointed toward the ground in Liara's general direction.

"Tali, I want you to activate this. We may be able drill under the prothean structure to get to Liara." Shepard said. Tali quickly nodded.

"I'm on it." she said. After a minute with tinkering with it the laser activated and shot through the ground and into the prothean structure. Tali turned it off shortly after and found a newly made entrance.

"Nice one Tali!" Shepard praised.

"Thank you." Tali said blushing. Luckily Shepard was looking at the new passage and not her specifically.

"Let's go." Shepard said walking in with the rest following. They came up to a platform with a console. Shepard felt a wave of nostalgia hit him instantly as soon as he saw and started typing on it in a trance-like state. The platform moved showing it was an elevator as it carried them to where Liara was. Shepard then moved next to her and started messing with the computer.

"How... how did you get in here? I didn't think there was anyway past the barrier!" Liara asked happy.

"Blasted through with the mining laser." Shepard said as he continued typing. Realization donned on Liara.

"Of course, yes. That makes sense." Liara said. Then she continued, "Please..get me out of here before more geth arrive."

"Done and done." Shepard said as he pressed the final button. The barrier curtain deactivated letting Liara go.

"Any idea how we get out of this place?" Garrus asked.

"The elevator back that way should take us out of here, come on!" Liara said as she started to move towards it with everyone walking with her. As they walked over Liara began talking.

"I-I still cannot believe all this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?" She asked Shepard.

"Saren's looking for the Conduit. Your a prothean expert. He obviously wants you to help him find it." Kaidan answered for Shepard.

"The Conduit? But I don't know-" Liara began to say until she was cutoff by a tremor. They all looked around to see the place shaking.

"What the hell was that?" Ash said.

"These ruins are not stable. That mining laser must've triggered a seismic event." Liara answered.

"You mean like an earthquake?" Tali asked. Before Liara could answer Wrex did it for her.

"No, its more like a volcanic eruption." he said.

"Great." Shepard sarcastically said.

"We have to hurry. The whole place is caving in!" Liara said as she started the elevator up. Shepard decided to have an escape plan just in case.

"Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on our position! On the double mister!" Shepard ordered scaring the hell out of Joker who was reading comics in his pilot seat.

"Aye, aye, Shepard. Secure and aweigh. ETA eight minutes." Joker said as he moved the Normandy. Shepard and co. then rode the elevator up to the top floor when Shepard felt a biotic signature and multiple electric signatures.

"Guys weapons out!" Shepard ordered. Everyone took out there weapons except Liara who looked confused. Her confusion disappeared when she saw why they did it as soon as they got to the top. In front of them was a krogan and few geth standing between them and the exit. The krogan stepped forward.

"Surrender, or don't. That would be more fun." the krogan said.

"In case you haven't noticed this place is falling apart!" Shepard growled out.

"Exhilarating isn't it?" the krogan said smirking. That was when Shepard started charging up a Quick Power Strike in his left hand with adrenaline flowing in his veins.

"I don't have time for this shit!" Shepard roared as he darted toward the krogan before anyone could move. He quickly got in front of the krogan before he slammed his attack in the krogan's face, instantly killing him. Shepard then used the residual energy from the power strike to create a fast but powerful biotic repulse, killing the geth near him. He then turned to his stunned squad.

"This is no time to stare! We need to leave now!" Shepard yelled making them dash for the exit. Shepard was in the back going slower than rest since he used so much of his biotics today. The Power Strike takes a lot of energy to charge and control and the biotic repulse he did a few seconds ago didn't help either.

'If I somehow live through this, I'm going to have Raviolis and a nap. So come on John. Raviolis and a nap! Raviolis and a nap!' He thought to himself. He could see they were close to the exit when Liara stumbled and fell. He quickly picked her up bridal style and ran as fast as he could. Liara on the other hand was blushing a dark shade of purple with how Shepard was carrying her. The both of them made it out as the last ones. Shepard set her down gently on her feet. Everyone noticed he was panting very hard.

"Hey Shepard are you alright?" Wrex asked.

"Yea." Shepard said breathlessly. Then he passed out.

"Shepard!" Tali said as Garrus caught him. Kaidan took a look over to see what was wrong. He then smiled.

"He's fine. Just exhausted." he surmised.

"Maybe we should get Dr. Chakwas to see him just in case." Ashley offered worried about Shepard.

"It would be best to let a medical officer look him over just to be safe." Liara said adding her two cents.

"Yea okay we'll send him to Chakwas." Kaidan said just knowing Shepard was going to wake up with a heart-attack when he saw he was in Chakwas med-bay. He silently apologized to Shepard as he watched the Normandy pass by over them.

(Whew! Tell me what you think! Good? Bad? In the middle? C'mon I need to hear from you to know what your thinking!)


	10. Mission Report 1

Recap: "Yea okay we'll send him to Chakwas." Kaidan said just knowing Shepard was going to wake up with a heart-attack when he saw he was in Chakwas med-bay. He silently apologized to Shepard as he watched the Normandy pass by over them.

Now

Shepard was having a pretty good dream, or more like reliving a good memory. He was back on Mindoir with his mom who was reading to him while they were both laying in a hammock, with the sun setting which illuminated the sky with red, orange, blue and yellow when he was 8 years old. Shepard was at peace. A peace he had not truly appreciated until... he lost his mom. He then remembered everything that happened: his home in flames, his mother dying, the training with Zaeed, creating Isaac, fighting the slavers, saving Elysium, meeting Liselle and training with Aria, surviving Akuze, finding the slavers' main base, the Battle of Torfan, Eden Prime, the Citadel, becoming the first human spectre, meeting the crew of the Normandy, and his modifications. As Shepard continued to remember, the silhouette of childhood peace changed. It morphed from its beautiful sunset covering a tranquil forest near a field to something else. Shepard was now back to his current age, clad in his Colossus X armor with his Master HMW weapons and he was now in a forest with incredibly tall trees reaching up to a now clear night sky with the stars shining brightly.

"What is this? Where am I?" Shepard said out loud looking around. He froze when he heard a very familiar voice behind him.

"You don't know? This is your inner world, Johnny." the voice said. A voice he had not heard for 18 years. He slowly turned around and saw her.

"M-M-Mom?!" Shepard choked out seeing her, tears forming in his eyes. There she was, Hannah Shepard. Long red hair, blue eyes, slightly tanned skin in civilian clothing. (Think of a slightly older fem shep with long hair.)

"Hey John-" was as far as she got before she was engulfed in hug. She hugged him back immediately.

"I missed you, so very much." John said tearfully.

"So did I son." Hannah said with equal emotion. They stayed like that for a few minutes until they broke apart.

"Mom, you said we were in where?" John asked calming down and drying his eyes. Hannah looked at him for minute before she answered him.

"This is your inner world." She said as she gestured to everything around them.

"My inner world?" John asked confused.

"Yes, very few can go into their inner world. I doubt even an asari matriarch could without centuries of mental training." Hannah explained.

"Then how am I in here then?" Shepard asked trying to figure it out. Hannah just smiled at him.

"You always were a strange child. Perhaps this was one of your many oddities." She replied still smiling.

"Does any of it have meaning, you know the trees, the sky, the ground?" John asked.

"Well, the night sky represents the heights you have yet to achieve. The trees represent hopes you have lifted, the heights you have achieved. As for the entire place. What do you think it is?" Hannah told him. John looked around for moment then realized where he was.

"This is the forest I trained in." John said quietly.

"Yes. Do you realize it now? Your inner world reflects who you are and what you feel is safe. This place is the reflection of home." Hannah said. John chuckled while rubbing the back of his head, but then he turned serious.

"Mom, I found out something about myself and I need to know if you-" John started saying before she finished for him.

"If I knew about your genetic tailoring?" She said to which he nodded.

"Yes, I was the one who did it." She said shocking John.

"So those extra genomes and that structure surrounding my DNA? You put them there?" John asked gritting his teeth.

"The genomes, yes. That structure was not my doing though. I honestly don't know what it was or its purpose. It seems to be dormant though. It was unlike anything I had ever seen." Hannah said.

"Why, why did you do it?" John asked her his hands curling into fists.

"You have to understand that you were not a normal birth. You were created in a lab with my DNA mixed with someone else's, the man who told me to create you." Hannah explained shocking him.

"Why did he need me to be created?" John asked.

"Because you were suppose to be the first of a new breed of humans. A super race that could outwit a salarian, overpower an asari matriarch in biotics, heal faster and outfight any krogan, and to adapt to any situation." Hannah explained with a sad face. John stood there for a moment.

"Then why haven't I seen anymore like me?" He asked calming down.

"Because I defected, for you. To save you, my son." Hannah said making John look at her again. John then sighed and looked down at his feet.

"I have created several great things in my life as a scientist, some good, some horrible, but you are the best one I ever made. Both as a scientist and as a mother. Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your journey, who you choose to be." Hannah said seeing his expression. That was when John saw all the choices he made, not because of his genetic tailoring, but because of who he was as a person. He then smiled knowing things will be fine

"Don't worry, I'll come to terms with it. I'm your son after all." John said with a small smile. Hannah had tears of joy in her eyes now. She quickly wiped them away. She then turned serious.

"Son, you have to listen to me. This mission of yours is pushing you towards something big. I don't know what it is, but I know it is something that could affect the galaxy as we know it. Please be safe and happy." Hannah said as she walked up and hugged him.

"You got it mom, don't worry." John said as he hugged back. The world then started to fade away, to which John noticed.

"Mom, what's going on?" he asked.

"It would appear that your time is up here for now." Hannah said as she let go and stepped back.

"Was all of this real?" John asked thinking it was a dream. Hannah didn't say anything, instead she smiled and gave him a wink.

"Tell me who are you now?" she said to him. He thought before answering.

"I am John Shepard, I am the Juggernaut, I AM the Ghost of the Terminus." He spoke reaffirming who he was. Then John's vision fade to black.

During that Time

The whole squad and an asari had brought in Shepard who had passed out from exhaustion with Wrex carrying him over his shoulder. They had made their way over to the med-bay where Chakwas was. Chakwas had been having a restful day when the ground team had come in carrying an unconscious Shepard.

"Whoa! What happened?" she asked to no one in particular.

"He just passed out from exhaustion." Kaidan answered. Wrex then put him on the nearest bed easily for a krogan. Chakwas immediately started scanning Shepard for any internal injuries with everyone watching. After a minute she stopped scanning.

"Your right Kaidan, he's exhausted from overusing his biotics." Chakwas told them. Everyone let out an audible sigh except Kaidan. Chakwas then asked, "What was he doing that could've caused his biotics to get like this?" Everyone thought about what could have done such a thing until Garrus thought of something.

"What about that move of his? What did he call it? Power Strike?" Garrus said. Chakwas rose an eyebrow at that.

"Power Strike?" she asked.

"Yes it's a biotic move he used several times during the mission." Tali spoke up thinking Garrus had the right idea. Wrex then joined in.

"Yea, it was a pretty destructive move too. Never seen anything like it." He spoke.

"I'd like to know how someone who doesn't have a lot of things such as experimental tech, be able to use much less create an attack like that." Ashley said a little suspicious of how Shepard could make such a destructive attack before any of the other races could even think of one.

"As would I." Liara said agreeing with Ashley. Liara was curious about the human who was lying unconscious in front of everyone. She also noticed that he seemed to be smiling out of genuine happiness like he was having a good dream. She then thought of his arms felt when he had picked her up and carried her out when she had stumbled in the mine. They were firm, but were also gentle. She couldn't help but blush when she realized where her thoughts started going after that. That was when Shepard started to wake up.

"*YAWN* What a nice nap." Shepard said with is eyes closed as he stretched. He then opened his eyes and started to look around. Then he got a panicked look and started looking around until Chakwas entered his vision. He then did something that freaked out all the non-humans in the room.

"AAAAHHH! I DIED AND WENT TO HELL!" Shepard exclaimed. Wrex couldn't believe how Shepard was acting. Tali was startled by how Shepard reacted to where he was. Garrus thought that maybe Shepard was hallucinating. Liara was wondering why he thought the med-bay was Hell. Kaidan and Ashley were smiling at Shepard's childish reaction. Chakwas then pulled out a needle and injected its contents into Shepard.

"Ouch!" Shepard said until he realized something. Chakwas saw the look on his face.

"Yes, if you feel pain, you know that you are alive. Also, don't you compare my med-bay to hell ever again." Chakwas stated.

"Well, it's still my personal hell. I never liked medical places ever since I was a kid." Shepard said as he got up. He then looked at his squad and gave them a hard stare.

"Which one of you said it would be a good idea to put me in here?" Shepard said in an even tone making his team nervous. Kaidan squealed, knowing if he got blamed, Shepard would work him to death.

"It was the girls." He said pointing at Tali, Ashley and Liara. Garrus and Wrex quickly nodded their heads in agreement knowing what Shepard could do. The girls then did their best to glare at the men who ratted them out. Shepard then looked at the girls. His stare then let up and softened.

"Okay, I'll let this slide just this once since it was the first time. However, don't send me here unless I am bleeding profusely. Okay?" Shepard said in a warmer tone than earlier looking at everyone. They all nodded to him.

"Alright then, everyone get into more comfortable clothing and we'll meet up in the comm room in... 2 hours." Shepard said thinking over how long it might take him to make a report. He then started to leave until Chakwas called his name.

"Shepard, I would like to know what exactly caused you to pass out." she said getting everyone to look at her, then to Shepard.

"I overused my biotics during the mission." Shepard said.

"From what everyone said, it sounded like you only used them a few times." Chakwas said.

"OH! You mean my Power Strike?" Shepard asked realizing what she was talking about. Chakwas nodded before she sat down in her chair.

"Yes, I want you to explain it to me. Especially its drawbacks." she said trying to see if it could harm Shepard in anyway.

"I don't know.." Shepard said sounding as if he really shouldn't. Then his squad spoke up.

"C'mon Shepard I haven't seen a technique like before, and I've lived for hundreds of years." Wrex said.

"Yes and my race is natural biotic race, and I never heard of a technique like that before." Liara added.

"The Alliance had made no word of that too." Ashley said with Kaidan nodding.

"Nor the Turian Hierarchy." Garrus added. Tali just stood there looking at Shepard curiously. Seeing all of their expecting faces he sighed as he decided to explain it.

"Okay I'll tell you about it. The concept for the Power Strike came to me after Akuze. I had used a Singularity mixed with a Warp to create a biotic explosion inside a Thresher Maw's mouth. The explosion had wrecked the armor inside its mouth pretty badly and scared it off. Afterwards, I had thought of using a technique that could deal as much damage, but at a faster pace." Shepard explained stating the beginning of the Power Strike's creation.

"But wait, you didn't show any sort of ability like it during the battle of Torfan." Kaidan said having been there and seeing earlier footage.

"Yes and the Justicar you saved made no mention of it either." Liara adding into the conversation. Yes, when Samara gave her report, the matriarchs decided to let the asari people know who had caused such a ruckus in the galaxy as well as saved their loved ones. Liara had heard about Ghost and on the way into the Normandy she found out Shepard was Ghost. She was shocked when she saw that the man before her was someone who did such things.

"Yes well, I didn't start on it until after Torfan. You see I was to preoccupied with the slavers and having to be in the employ of Aria T'Loak." Shepard explained getting nods from the 2. He then continued on.

"After that nasty business on Torfan, I decided that I needed something to preoccupy my new free time. So I started researching biotics to see if the technique exists. Obviously it didn't. So I dove into research of recorded biotic abilities, theories and notes. I looked into the Asari, Asari Justicars, Valkyries, Human Adepts, Human Sentinels, Human Vanguards, Volus Adepts, Mercenary Sentinel, and Protectors, Drell Adepts and Vanguards, Batarian Slashers, Enforcers and Brawlers, Turian Cabals and Sentinels, hell even Krogan Shamans, Warlords and Battlemasters. Each and every one of their abilities, I studied. Well except for a few. The asari keep a few of the strong ones closely guarded." Shepard explained.

"Wait a minute, how did you find that stuff anyway? No one could find all of that on the extranet." Tali said noticing that most of the stuff he had described would've been classified. Shepard looked thoughtful at that.

"Well the human's was on the extranet, at least the abilities were. The Drell were also, as well as the Volus since there aren't too many of them. The krogan abilities, I had to collect information from various sources. The batarians were from captured pirates and slavers. For the Asari and Turians, well I had to do a combination of outside sources as well as hacking to get the info." Shepard admitted. Liara and Garrus were looking right at him with shocked stares. Someone had hacked into secure military secrets of their governments. Shepard saw their looks and decided to ease their fears.

"Don't worry, I was just after the information on biotics, the moves and the way they are applied, okay. Anything else, I ignored." Shepard said with his hands up in a placating gesture. That seemed to calm them down a little. Then Ashley spoke up.

"So what, do you have the whole galaxy's biotic arsenal at your fingertips now?" she said looking a little suspicious of Shepard.

"I have the knowledge, but not the ability." Shepard answered.

"What do you mean?" Wrex asked wondering why Shepard couldn't do it.

"Well even though my biotics are above normal, my L3 implants have limits. Besides, biotics seem to have different effects when it comes to species. So even though I can use a wider range of abilities there are some things I just can't do, at least not with my current implants." Shepard explained. Everyone nodded in understanding.

"So how did it all culminate into the Power Strike?" Garrus asked.

"The idea came to me after seeing the biotic orbs of the volus. So I thought, Why not make a hand held version? Unfortunately, when I accomplished this it didn't have the amount of damage I was going for. So I decided to look back at my research of all the powers and see if I could combine them with it. I tried to see what Flare and Reave would be able to do, but sadly I never was able to find out what they were." Shepard said.

"Even if you found out, you wouldn't be able to do it, Asari Matriarchs, Justicars and high-ranking commandos are ever taught them. Even then it takes decades to master." Liara explained. Shepard looked at her.

"I'm guessing your mother told you that huh?" he stated. She nodded her head. Shepard then said, "Well I won't ask you to explain them to me, I'm just not ready for it." Shepard said. He had feeling that was all Benezia told her about when she said it was for high-ranking asari.

"Shepard go on." Chakwas said in a stern motherly tone. Shepard sighed.

"What I did come across was an asari technique called Biotic Sphere. I couldn't manage to fully replicate it, but I could make one the size of a soccer ball." Shepard said as he demonstrated it. In his hand was a sphere of biotic energy. He then continued on.

"I would then place the biotic orb inside the sphere," Shepard said as a biotic orb manifested inside the sphere. Everyone was now staring at intently, analyzing it.

"And then I would place a continuous Warp in between the sphere and the orb." Shepard said as biotic energy began to manifest and circulate in the sphere making it glow white.

"In doing so it creates a continuous biotic explosion inside the sphere." Shepard said as the energy began to pulsate. Everyone was stepping back thinking it was going to explode until Shepard smirked.

"Now the biotic explosion acts as a Warp, while maintain focus on the orb and sphere." Shepard explained as the sphere started radiate blue energy.

"Then all I need to do is direct the attack at a target." Shepard said as the light began to dissipate until the Power Strike faded out of existence. Everyone was staring at him dumbfounded as he had explained his move. Ashley and Garrus only understood the power it had which put them in awe of it. Tali and Kaidan knew the mechanics behind biotics and knew to do all of that took a lot of concentration. Liara and Wrex were in awe at the simplicity of it. Here was a human who was only 2 decades, going on 3, who created such a powerful technique, when none of the other races who had biotics for centuries and they didn't think of it. Wrex had a new respect for Shepard who showed his cunning in new ways of fighting. Tali and Kaidan had more admiration for his ability to keep finding new ways to surprise people. Ashley had a new respect for Shepard for the same reasons as Wrex. Liara and Garrus were now more at ease that Shepard had created a technique like this, and didn't flaunt it over others.

"And the drawbacks, Shepard?" Chakwas asked with a raised eyebrow. Shepard turned to her and spoke.

"The drawbacks are if I overuse it, I pass out from exhaustion. It puts a real strain on my implants making it 4 times a day. That's the limit, after that its lights out." Shepard said until Tali spoke up.

"Wait, but you used it only 3 times on the mission. Why did you pass out?" she asked. Shepard looked at her.

"Like I said, using each one puts a strain on it. When I used that Biotic Repulse immediately after the third one, it took more energy out of me than expected. Couple that with the sprint out of those ruins and having to carry someone while sprinting, it might as well have been for times." Shepard explained, making the squad look at Liara who blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Shepard." she said quietly.

"Huh? Oh I'm not blaming you Liara, I was just in to much of a hurry to set you down until we were safe." Shepard said not really blaming her. Liara gave him a grateful smile in return.

"Shepard, I don't want you using that move more than twice understand?" Chakwas said sternly. Shepard scoffed.

"Chakwas, your such a mother hen." Shepard said in response.

"Only because you and Joker act like children." She defended herself. Shepard blew a raspberry at her for that comment.

"My point exactly." Chakwas said pointing at him. Shepard then put his hands up placating her.

"Okay, okay. Joker's the sickly kid who makes jokes and I'm the reckless kid who finds trouble." Shepard admitted. Chakwas nodded at that. Shepard then looked at everyone else's amused faces.

"Meeting in the Comm Room in 2 hours. I need to eat and make a report." Shepard said as he walked out of the med-bay towards his room with everyone going back toward their stations. As Shepard got into his room, he got out of his armor and into his more comfortable fatigues.

"Hey Isaac you awake?" Shepard asked.

"I never sleep, also I would prefer that you follow Chakwas' advice." Isaac said having worried about Shepard when he passed out. Shepard nodded.

"I'll try to, besides something tells me with my genetic modifications, I wouldn't be able to do the Power Strike. If I were able to, I wouldn't be able to use it as many times or survive the strain for that matter." Shepard thought aloud.

"I have to admit using the power strike on that barrier was unnecessary." Isaac said his tone showing some annoyance at Shepard's carelessness. Shepard couldn't help but rub the back of his head and chuckle nervously.

"Fair enough." Shepard conceded. Then his amused expression turned serious.

"Hey, Isaac?"

"Yea Shepard?" Isaac said noticing that Shepard's expression.

"Do you believe in the afterlife?" Shepard asked.

"Why do you ask?" Isaac asked back.

"Its nothing, never mind." Shepard said looking towards the computer in the room. Isaac was silent for a few moments before he spoke up.

"I believe that there are things happen that simply don't make sense logically." Isaac said. Shepard was silent for awhile.

"Do you think Lis might be pregnant?" Isaac asked thinking Shepard could use a change of topic.

"I'm not sure. Its possible, but I don't know. We'll find out after this mission is done." Shepard said. Then he continued on, "Isaac if it's not too much trouble..."

"Write your report since I was with you through the whole thing? Sure, I could use something to do, besides I'm way faster." Isaac said finishing for him while bragging a little. Shepard smiled at him.

"Thanks." he said.

"No problem, transfer me over to your computer over there and I'll have it all written up in 30 minutes." Isaac said. Shepard walked over to the computer and began transferring Isaac over.

"Be sure it's in first person, and don't mention the power strike." Shepard said.

"The less they know about you, the better huh? Okay, gotcha." Isaac said as he was transferred over. After that Shepard walked out of his room and toward the mess to find something to eat.

2 Hours Later

After gorging on whatever food he could find he then made is way up to the Comm Room. He waited for everyone to file in. Liara came in first.

"Hello, Shepard." Liara said in greeting. Then Tali came in.

"Hey Shepard." Tali said hoping Shepard was better. Then Garrus walked in followed by Kaidan.

"Shepard." They greeted at the same time. Then came Ashley and Wrex who simply sat down. That was when Joker spoke over the intercom.

"Too close, Shepard! Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference." Joker said. Shepard rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Okay Joker, I'll try to find a better extraction zone next time we need to get out of a volcano." Shepard said smirking.

"Please do." Joker retorted. Everyone couldn't believe how the 2 acted with each other.

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara said surprised.

"Joker pulled our asses out of that. I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes." Shepard said knowing Joker was listening in.

"Hey, I heard that." Joker replied. Shepard just laughed softly.

"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Shepard." Liara said.

"Just so you know, every human is different. There are few humans who are exactly alike, and fewer that are in the same place." Shepard told her thinking it might be best she'd know. Liara nodded in understanding.

"But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there, and not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me, or dragged me off to Saren." Liara continued on.

"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan asked.

"Only that it was somehow connected to the prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the last fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them." Liara replied.

"How old are you exactly?" Shepard said curious about her age. He knew she was in her early maiden years but that was it. He than noticed Liara blushed, embarrassed.

"I hate to say this but I'm only a hundred and six." she said. Ah that is young for an asari.

"Damn, I hope I look that good when I'm your age." Ashley stated. Liara then looked at her.

"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours, but among the asari I'm barely considered more than a child." Liara explained.

"Basically it's like 16-year old is to humans, Ashley." Shepard continued for Liara, dumbing it down. Liara nodded in agreement.

"That's why my research hasn't gotten the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to... dismiss my theories on what happened to the protheans." Liara said looking down.

"Shows what they know." Shepard said getting up. He then continued on, "I've got my own theory about why the protheans vanished." Liara looked at him a little disbelieving.

"With all due respect, Shepard, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The protheans left remarkably little behind." Liara said.

"Almost too little." Shepard rebuffed.

"Yes, it is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues." Liara continued nodding. She then added, "But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them." she finished.

"What cycle? What are you talking about?" Shepard asked curious.

"The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive." Liara explained. Shepard was getting a bad feeling from this.

"The protheans rose up from a single world until their empire had spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements- the mass relays and the citadel- are based on the technology of those who came before them. Then like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the protheans disappeared." Liara said. Shepard now knew who wiped the protheans out.

"I have dedicated my life to figuring out why." Liara said.

"They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines. The Reapers." Shepard said causing Liara to look bewildered.

"The-the reapers? But I have never heard of- How do you know this? What evidence do you have?" Liara fired off her questions.

"There was a damaged prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. Still trying to sort out what it means." Shepard explained watching her reaction.

"Visions? Yes, that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one is extremely rare." Liara said understanding now.

"No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a beacon, even a badly damaged one, is worth almost any the risk." Liara said trying to figure things out before she continued, "But the beacons were programmed to interact with prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear." She then looked at Shepard in a new light.

"I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Shepard." Liara said.

"Okay, this isn't helping us find Saren or the Conduit." Ashley interrupted. If Shepard was facing her, he would've seen her jealousy.

"Ashley, be patient." Shepard said in firm tone. Ash quieted down fast.

"Of course you are right. I'm sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the conduit, or Saren." Liara said a little saddened.

"Hmm. I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture, but I think it would be best if we bring you along." Shepard said thinking she could help.

"Thank you, Shepard. Saren might come after me again. I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship, and my knowledge of the protheans might be useful later." Liara said as she got up.

"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts." Wrex said adding his two cents in.

"Good to have you on the team Liara." Shepard said.

"Thank you, Shepard. I'm very gratef- whoa. I am afraid I am feeling a bit light-headed." Liara said putting her hand to her head.

"When was the last time you ate? Or slept? Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you." Kaidan noticing her fatigued state.

"It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the protheans' true fate. I need some time to process all this." Liara said trying to keep her impressions up. She then thought of it, "Still it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me a chance to think things over. Are we finished here, Shepard?" Liara asked.

"Yea, go see the doctor. We'll talk later. Everyone else, dismissed." Shepard said. Everyone filed out as Joker talked over the intercom.

"Mission reports are filed, Shepard. You want me to patch you through to the Council?" Joker asked. Shepard sighed mentally preparing himself for the irritation he was about to receive.

"Yeah, patch them through Joker." Shepard said after a few seconds.

"Setting up the link now, Shepard. Good luck." Joker said.

"I might need it." Shepard muttered. He then turned around to see the holograms of the Council.

"We've received your report, Ghost. I understand Dr. T'soni is on the Normandy." Tevos began.

"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions?" Sparatus said, with some light hostility.

"As much as I feel is needed. She wants to help us. I'll let her do that as long as she doesn't become detrimental." Shepard said thinking this might keep them of his back. He quietly watched their reactions. Tevos held a small, almost unnoticeable smile. Valern looked as if he was studying Shepard's every move. Sparatus' irritated look relaxed slightly at his answer.

"Besides, I don't think she has any reason to fight against us since the geth were trying to kill her." Shepard added to cement his argument. Tevos looked a little shocked at that.

"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter." Tevos said.

"Maybe, she doesn't know." Valern stated.

"Or maybe we don't know her. We never expected she could become a traitor." Sparatus stated his outlook.

"At least the mission was a success." Valern stated.

"Apart from the destruction of a major prothean ruin. Was that necessary Shepard?" Sparatus asked trying to grill him.

Shepard didn't answer as he looked deep in thought with arms crossed, with his thumbnail in his mouth. The Councilors noticed this.

"Is there something on your mind, Ghost?" Valern asked wondering what was on his mind.

"Maybe, it's something else." Shepard finally said. The Councilors looked confused at him.

"What do you mean?" Sparatus asked.

"Look, you yourself said you knew Saren for many years correct?" Shepard asked Sparatus who nodded. Shepard then turned to Tevos.

"And the way you talk about Benezia means you've known her for some time, yes?" Shepard asked Tevos.

"Yes, for decades, almost a century now." She said.

"What are you getting at Ghost?" Valern asked now curious.

"What did Benezia specialize in? What did she talk about when it came to politics?" Shepard asked Tevos again, ignoring Valern.

"She mostly talked about working with the other races." Tevos said. "What are you looking for Shepard?" she asked.

"Doesn't it seem strange?" Shepard asked all of them now.

"What?" Sparatus asked annoyed.

"I can understand why Saren would attack a human colony. But if Benezia was always talking about cooperation for the last few decades, why join with Saren. And speaking of Saren, why would he suddenly turn against all the other races. Humanity is a given, but his own people?" Shepard said.

"What do you think is going on Ghost?" Valern asked now noticing what was Ghost might be thinking.

"I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, Saren and Benezia aren't the true enemy. Maybe there is someone, or something controlling them." Shepard said. The Council looked at him silently until Tevos spoke.

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"You both were shocked about their recent activities because it was so out of character for them, especially with Benezia. No one makes a sudden change without some kind of interference." Shepard explained.

"How do you think that they could be under 'mind-control'?" Sparatus asked with his talons doing quotes.

"Because when I was hunting down the slavers back in the late 70's I noticed a pattern that the Batarian Hegemony was truly behind the attack on Elysium. It involved messages, recordings and records of large stockpiles of resources being moved around. The Hegemony had subtly nudged several merc and pirate bands, until they directly let the slaver bands in on it to. As for the mind control, the slavers used mind-control chip implants on slaves. I'm thinking it might be something similar with Saren and Benezia." Shepard explained. The Council could understand why Shepard would think this.

"Then if it is true, and that they are under some type of mind-control, then save them if you can and find out who did this. If not then you are to proceed with your original mission." Sparatus said. Shepard nodded with a determined look.

"Good luck, Ghost. Remember, We are all counting on you." Tevos said.

"Wait, did you guys get anymore leads while I was on the mission?" Shepard asked thinking he might need more info.

"Unfortunately no new information has come up. When it does, we will personally forward it to you." Valern said as their holograms winked out. Shepard was a little disappointed now. Great, he was going to have to find a way to kill some time before the next Council mission came in.

Whew! Read and Review please! Hope things in this one where okay!

**JUST MODIFICATIONS OKAY! NOTHING NEW, IT'S STILL IN THE WORKS!**


	11. Getting to know your crew

Recap: "Unfortunately no new information has come up. When it does, we will personally forward it to you." Valern said as their holograms winked out. Shepard was a little disappointed now. Great, he was going to have to find a way to kill some time before the next Council mission came in.

Now

Shepard decided to go talk to everyone as he walked out of the Comm Room and toward the cockpit. When he got there, Joker wasn't in his chair.

"Hey Pressly! Where's Joker?" Shepard asked as he looked at Pressly.

"He went downstairs to the mess Shepard." Pressly answered. Shepard began walk when he noticed the expression on Pressly's face.

"Something on your mind?" Shepard asked. Pressly was silent for a moment before he answered.

"Sir, if anyone has to take over for Captain Anderson I'm glad its you, Shepard. I'm just not sure about having non-humans on our ship though." Pressly said.

"Ah, so that's it. Don't worry Pressly, we are all on the same team here." Shepard said hoping to ease the older man's feelings.

"With all due respect, Shepard. That's what they said about Nihlus, and look at how that almost turned out." Pressly retorted. Shepard nodded understanding Pressly's point.

"Okay Pressly, speak your mind. I want to know if you got a problem with non-humans." Shepard said.

"It's not that Shepard. Humanity has always handled its own problems. Saren attacked one of our colonies. We should be the ones to stop him. We don't need their help." Pressly stated.

"I understand that some people think asking for help is a sign of weakness. That's just being stupid and stubborn. No matter how strong you are, allies make you stronger. Take it from me." Shepard said knowing as strong as he was, having his team with him made him much more stronger.

"I guess so. Maybe I'm just stuck in the old ways of thinking. Don't worry Shepard this won't be a problem." Pressly said. Shepard smiled at his attitude.

"You know, if you feel these problems coming back up, talk to them. You might find out we have more in common than you think. And if you don't, come talk to me. I'll listen." Shepard said as he walked off toward the mess downstairs. He walked in and found Joker along with Kaidan, Wrex, Garrus, Tali, Ashley and Liara. Before he could say anything, Joker beat him to it.

"I prefer gold to silver. You know for my medal. I figured you'd recommend me for one since I, uh pulled your asses out of the fire." Joker said. Shepard smirked at him as he sat down with everyone watching the 2 talk.

"Something tells me if you get a medal, you'll have to sit on a stage, listening to politicians make speeches for a few hours. But hey if you want one I'll send a recommendation to Anderson." Shepard said messing with him. He saw Joker's eyes go wide.

"Uh, hang on! On second thought, I don't need a medal. They'd probably make me shave too. I've been working on this baby for the past seven weeks. No medal's worth that." Joker said realizing what could happen. Shepard could only laugh at him.

"So, why did you come up here Shepard?" Joker said wondering why Shepard was up here.

"Well, I thought I'd say thanks for the save. Also how is the Normandy doing? Is she everything they said she'd be?" Shepard asked thinking the Normandy may have taken some damage from picking them up from the volcano.

"Your welcome. She's the best ship in the fleet... if you got a pilot who knows how to handle her." Joker said. Shepard started smirking again.

"The balance isn't what you would expect. Takes awhile to get used to that oversized drive core we got stuffed in the back. Her power can sneak up on you if you're not careful." Joker continued to say. Shepard knew that Joker had the Normandy all figured out.

"The Nomandy's probably too much ship for your average Alliance pilot, Shepard. Luckily for you, I'm anything but average." Joker finished tooting his own horn.

"Hey I'm curious, why does everyone call you Joker?" Shepard asked.

"It's a lot shorter than saying Alliance Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau. Plus I like to make little children laugh." Joker said smiling.

"You know, I was just thinking about how much you remind me of Santa Claus." Shepard said grinning.

"Okay, okay. Look, I didn't pic the name. One of the instructors in flight school used to bug me about never smiling. She started calling me Joker, and it stuck." Joker explained.

"Why didn't you ever smile?" Shepard asked wondering how this guy in front of him could ever been a downer.

"Hey, I worked my ass off in flight school Shepard! The world's not going to hand you anything if you go around grinning like a idiot." Joker said with an annoyed expression.

"Don't I know it." Shepard agreed. Joker nodded.

"By the end of the year, I was the best pilot in the Academy. Even better than the instructors and everybody knew it." Joker continued getting a little more passionate. Joker then smiled as he continued, "They all got their asses kicked by sickly kid with the creaky little legs. One guess who was smiling at graduation."**  
**

"So Shepard. What's your story?" Joker asked causing everyone to look at Shepard.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"Come on! We all heard the stories of the Ghost, but no one has heard the truth. Besides, a guy like you doesn't become a galactic batman for nothing." Joker said wanting to know about Shepard. The non-humans in the room were wondering what a batman was while they and the other humans waited for Shepard to speak.

"Well, what have you heard about me?" Shepard asked with his arms behind his head.

"I heard that some people say your not human." Joker said.

"Some said you were a myth." Wrex said joining in.

"The governments said you were a rouge mercenary." Garrus added.

"The Alliance said you were just some reckless vigilante." Ashley said with Kaidan nodding.

"The quarian people thought you were some kind of assassin." Tali added.

"The asari thought you were a rouge experiment." Liara said.

"So why did you become the Ghost?" Joker asked. Shepard chuckled at their responses, in a way they were all right.

"Why I became the Ghost? Well, it was for vengeance and justice I guess." Shepard said causing all of them to lean in.

"Against who?" Garrus asked.

"The slavers." Shepard said with an even tone.

"What did they do to you?" Liara asked. Shepard was quiet for a few seconds before he responded.

"They burned down my home and killed my family." Shepard said having adverse reactions from everyone. Wrex had already guessed that was the case. Kaidan already knew it. Liara was shocked at him as was Tali. Garrus and Ashley could understand it. Joker felt a little bad for asking it.

"So, were you gunning for batarians afterwards?" Ashley asked, her ignorance showing. Shepard looked at her with indifference which kind of startled her for a second.

"I was gunning for slavers and the like. That included batarians, asari, salarians, turians, krogan and even humans." Shepard said in an even voice which scared Ashley. He then continued to say, "I told you before on the Citadel that I didn't feel that much of connection with humanity, because I lived on Omega. That was only a mere part of it. When I saw humans as slavers, when I saw them traffic other humans, I decided to stop seeing which race was more superior and to simply look at them all as people and monsters." Shepard said stating his views on the people in the galaxy. Kaidan and Ashley could accept it even though they were a little shaken by it. Wrex completely understood why Shepard was like this because of his history with his people. Garrus, Tali and Liara had a hard time fathoming how one member of a species couldn't feel a connection to their species.

"You asked me why I became the Ghost? It was to become a symbol to everyone. A symbol of hope, fear, power. A symbol to show the slavers who thought themselves invincible, that there was someone who could and would tear them down. They were monsters who destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands and in the end created their destroyer. They made a colony kid into an orphan hell bent on destroying them. That is my story Joker. Some people call me a hero, others call me a demon. I just see myself as another person trying do something he thinks is right." Shepard said leaving his audience stunned.

"H-How old were you?" Joker asked dreading the answer. Shepard looked at him with dead eyes.

"Eleven years old." Was all he said as he looked around to see his squad's reactions.

Tali was sad for him. She couldn't think of losing everything like he did. The quarian people were a tight community since their exodus from Rannoch. She just wanted to walk up and hug him after hearing his story.

Liara was greatly saddened by how the Ghost of the Terminus came to be. To go through such hardship at the hands of others. It just wasn't right.

Garrus didn't like how things had ended up for Shepard thinking that something like that shouldn't have happened.

Wrex had far more respect for Shepard now seeing as he got stronger because of it.

"That's why I don't put that much faith in the Alliance." Shepard said making Ashley and Kaidan stiffen.

"W-What, why?" Ashley said a little shaken at how Shepard's views were.

"Because I see the Alliance as inept in it's duty. My home, Mindoir, was in the boundaries and yet when we came under attack, no help arrived." Shepard said coldly making Kaidan speak up.

"Shepard the Alliance did come, they were just too late." Kaidan tried to reason.

"Okay, fine. I'll take that. Let's get toward something more recent, Elysium." Shepard said staring at Kaidan before he continued, "What did the Alliance officials do when they did get warning from both of us?" Shepard asked rhetorically. Kaidan became silent as he looked at the ground.

"Come on Kaidan, we were both there." Shepard said wanting him to answer. Everyone was now looking at Kaidan wondering what happened, none more so than Ashley. Kaidan sighed before he spoke up.

"They laughed it off saying that it was nothing more than a prank." Kaidan said sadly. Everyone was in shock at that.

"And lets not forget who let the Alliance know about Torfan. They probably had people working on it, but obviously not enough when one man found it before them." Shepard said putting the evidence out there for everyone. He then said, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Alliance did it just so they could get some good publicity." Shepard said snorting at the thought.

"You can guys can still view the Alliance as this awesome thing for humanity, but me? No." Shepard said. Everyone was quiet before they walked back to their stations.

"Joker, take us back to the Citadel, when you get back to the cockpit. I need to pick up some more things. See ya around." Shepard said as he walked away planning on talking to everyone on his squad.

"You betcha, Shepard. Sorry about... you know." Joker said as he hobbled away.

"Don't worry about it. You were just curious." Shepard said as he walked towards Kaidan. Kaidan looked at him as he approached and spoke up first.

"That was some serious stuff you said Shepard." Kaidan said.

"Yeah well, the Alliance trying to recruit me, asking or forcing, is a little serious too." Shepard said making Kaidan wince.

"Okay fair enough. Did you want to talk about something?" Kaidan asked

"What's your opinion on Therum?" Shepard asked.

"Dr. T'soni? seems like a sweet girl, easy on the eyes." Shepard smirked at him. Kaidan noticed and quickly added, "I mean, if you like the bookish sort."

"Any intentions there, Kaidan?" Shepard asked grinning now.

"No, Shepard just art appreciation." Kaidan said smirking back.

"Uh huh. Look, we've met over the years, and are now working together. I've talked about myself a lot, now I'd like to know more about my crew. Only ones who haven't really talked that much are you and Ashley. So talk, off the record." Shepard said.

"Generous attitude. Okay, so Saren is looking for records on the protheans' mass extinction and no one is looking in on it now? Sorry, Shepard. There's writing on the wall here, but someone isn't reading it." Kaidan said. Shepard nodded knowing he was right.

"The Council doesn't want to believe anything is wrong, dumbasses." Shepard said shaking his head.

"I know, it's just you'd think that with a group that has been around as long as the Council, they'd be more prepared. Sorry if it's too informal." Kaidan said not really being sorry.

"Hey, I'm the one who called them dumbasses, and I'm not apologizing for it either." Shepard said. Kaidan chuckled at that.

"You would've fit right in BAaT. Protocol wasn't that big there either." Kaidan said.

"What was BAat?" Shepard asked having heard of it, but not much.

"Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training. It didn't last past the airlock. To the kids they hauled in it was just called Brain Camp." Kaidan said as he began to explain it.

"Sorry, 'hauled in' is a unkind. We were 'encouraged to commit to an evaluation of our abilities so an understanding of biotics could be compiled.'" Kaidan said quoting the garbage that was fed to them before he continued, "There were worse results of 'accidental' exposure to element zero in the womb. Beats the brain tumors some kids had to grow up with."

"I'm getting the feeling that some of it wasn't accidental." Shepard said hearing Kaidan's tone with accidental.

"Well, some of them might be, but mine wasn't. My mother was downwind of a transport crash, when it was before human biotics. A little after the discovery of the martian ruins. It only got iffy around '63 when Conatix was running out of first gen subjects. Until then they relied on accidentals. Then a bunch of guys in suits show up at your door after school. Next thing you know, you're out on Jump Zero." Kaidan stated.

"You know of any intentional exposures for certain?" Shepard asked.

"No one 'knows.' Doesn't mean they didn't happen. As big as the exposures were, it was hard to track down accidentals. It was different then. No one knew the potential, so there wasn't a lot of regulation then. Anything Conatix did was gold. I'm not saying they intentionally detonated drives over our outposts, but in retrospect, they were damn quick on the scene." Kaidan said showing what he really thought. Shepard nodded his head in agreement. Then Shepard remembered something.

"Jump Zero was Gagarin Station right? What was it like?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, that was the official name. Biggest and farthest facility we had for decades. Right on the termination shock, at the outer edge of the solar system. That was where they did all the 'goose chase' FTL research. Before we caught on to mass effect fields. When I was there, it was a sterile research platform." Kaidan explained.

"There were other kids, so you weren't alone there then at least." Shepard said.

"That's true. We did have a little circle that'd get together every night before lights-out. We didn't have much to though. It was a research platform then, and Conatix kept Jump Zero off the extranet. You know, to prevent leaks." Kaidan replied, then saw Shepard's grin.

"You were all teenagers, you must've found other ways to occupy the time." Shepard said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Kaidan chuckled at Shepard's antics.

"I'm not the sort to do that kind of thing. Not lightly anyway. There was a girl I spent a lot of time with, but we kept our clothes on. Rahna. She was from Turkey. Her family was very rich, but she was smart, charming as hell, and beautiful but not stuck up about it. I think you would've liked her, Shepard." Kaidan said his tone of voice changing. Shepard noticed how Kaidan had talked about her like she was perfect.

"She sounds like one in a million. Was she special to you?" Shepard asked a little more serious now.

"She was. Maybe she felt the same, but things never fell together. Training, you know." Kaidan said dodging the question. Shepard noticed and decided not to push him.

"Jump Zero is a long way from Earth. What's it like?" Shepard asked changing the subject. Kaidan had rueful smile when he asked that.

"The Grand Gateway to Humanity looks a lot better in the vids, but that's my own baggage, Shepard. No bearing on this." Kaidan said

"Kaidan, you can trust me. I won't tell anyone." Shepard said thinking he could use some encouragement.

"I appreciate that Shepard. I've got my past squared away though. Maybe later." Kaidan said finishing the conversation.

"Okay, whenever you want to talk again." Shepard said as he walked away.

"Shepard wait." He heard Kaidan say. He turned back to him.

"Yea?"

"Why do you hide your real attitude?" Kaidan asked.

'So he saw it, huh?' Shepard thought with his calm expression becoming a little cold. He then spoke in an equally cold tone, "Because if you all saw the real me, the Ghost of the Terminus, this team would likely take longer and not work as well. Besides you, Wrex may be the only other one who saw through my facade today. You've seen who we have besides you and him: An ignorant soldier, a turian agent who's gunning for a chance to to do things recklessly, a naive quarian who knows little of the galaxy beyond the Migrant Fleet and an asari who prefers relics over people. Wrex, you and I are the only ones who know how things are done with a mission like this, but them? They might as well be children on this mission." Kaidan couldn't help but wince, knowing Shepard was right. Then Shepard's tone became a little warmer.

"I want them to realize what is going on, and that they need to work together fluidly to win." Shepard said, his face losing its cold look. When he said that, Kaidan looked at him, knowing he was right.

"So what, are you going to be the big brother who teaches them?" Kaidan asked. Shepard smiled.

"No, I'm going to be the guy who makes them realize it." Shepard said as he walked towards the med bay, leaving Kaidan with his thoughts. Shepard walked into the med bay as he saw Chakwas.

"Hey." he said.

"Here to talk with Liara?" Chakwas said, already knowing.

"Might as well welcome her and see how she is doing." Shepard said as he walked toward the back of the med bay. When he got in he saw Liara get up.

"Shepard, are you coming to check up on me?" Liara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, you look much better. How are you feeling?" Shepard asked checking her aura with anything abnormal.

"Doctor Chakwas assures me I am going to be fine. I was impressed with her knowledge of asari physiology." Liara said. Shepard smiled at that.

"Your in good hands. Despite how she and I act, I can assure you she knows what she is doing." Shepard said honestly. He and Chakwas make act strange with each other, but he had nothing but respect for the woman's medical abilities, except maybe a little dread.

"I never properly got to thank you for saving from the geth. If you hadn't showed up..." Liara began to say until trailed off.

"Hey, I'm just glad we got there in the nick of time." Shepard said reassuringly.

"So am I." Liara said. Shepard chuckled thinking it was funny. He stopped when he noticed Liara was looking at him.

"What's on your mind?" Shepard asked.

"I know you took a chance bringing me aboard this ship. I have seen the way your crew looks at me, they don't trust me." Liara said looking down. She then looked back up with determination, "But I am not like Benezia. I will do whatever I can help you stop Saren. I promise." Shepard smiled at her.

"Well, you can prove my crew wrong by helping us against Saren, and don't worry we'll get this mess with your mother straightened out." Shepard said.

"It means a lot to hear you say that, Shepard. Thank you." Liara said with a grateful smile. Now that he had a moment to take a good look, he noticed how beautiful Liara was. He also couldn't help, but notice her... assets as well. He quickly moved his eyes back towards Liara's eyes. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but notice how all the women in his squad were ample in some places: Liara had her chest, Tali was more proportional in the hips, and Ash balanced out in both departments, neither too big or small. He then mental slapped himself. 'No! Bad John! Bad! We need think of Liselle, she might be carrying your unborn child!' Shepard mentally chastised himself. His more primal self was going 'They're hot! Besides Lis broke up with you. You wouldn't be cheating.' Luckily he ignored it.

"Well, I'd like to learn more about you, Liara. You know since we are on the same team now." Shepard asked, hoping to get know her better.

"Me? I'm afraid I am not very interesting, Shepard. I spend most of my time on remote digs, unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten prothean ruins." Liara said modestly.

"That sounds dangerous and lonely." Shepard said.

"Sometimes I would run afoul of indigenous life-forms, or stumble across a small band mercenaries or privateers." Shepard had a worried look on his face hoping they hadn't done anything awful, otherwise he was going hunting. Liara must've seen his expression when she added, "But I was always careful." Shepard calmed down a little.

"Until the geth found me in Artemis Tau, I had never found myself in any situation my biotics couldn't handle. As for the solitude, well, that is one aspect that most appealed to me. Sometimes I just need to get away from other people." she continued.

'Damn, just as I thought, a loner.' Shepard thought. He knew he had been right when he talked to Kaidan earlier. When he was on Therum he noticed that there no bodies of any other archaeologists. "What's wrong with people?" He asked hoping to make her more sociable.

"I suppose it comes with being a matriarchs daughter. People expected me to follow in Benezia's footsteps. They wanted me to become a leader of our people." Liara explained.

"No offense Liara, but you don't seem like the leading type." Shepard said stating what he thought.

"None taken. Matriarchs guide their followers into the future; they seek the truth of what is to come. Maybe that's why I became so interested in the secrets of the past." Liara said with the last bit seeming like a reflection on herself. She then chuckled before she continued, "It sounds so foolish when I say it out loud. It sounds like I became an archaeologist simply to spite Benezia."

"All children eventually rebel against their parents. It's part of growing up." Shepard said knowing it was true. Liara laughed a little in response.

"Haha. You share the wisdom of the Matriarch, Shepard. That is what Benezia said when I told her my decision." Liara said smiling. She then looked a little more serious, but her mirth was still present.

"But there was more to it than that. I felt drawn to the past. The protheans were these wondrous, mysterious figures. I wanted to know everything about them." Liara before looked at him again. She continued with, "That is why I find you so fascinating. You were marked by the beacon on Eden Prime, you were touched by working prothean technology!" Now Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. He decided to have a little fun with her.

"Doctor T'soni, it sounds like you want to dissect me in a lab somewhere." Shepard said keeping the grin of his face. Liara's went wide at what he said.

"What? No! I didn't mean insinuate- I never meant to offend you Shepard." Liara said her voice raising a little. Shepard stoic facade cracked a little, but she didn't notice. She tried to explain things out with saying, "I only meant that you would be an interesting specimen for in-depth study. No-that's even worse!" He couldn't hold it any longer and he started laughing at her. She had a very confused reaction to him laughing.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Y-Y-You are! I was just messing with you." Shepard said calming himself down, though he still had the occasional snicker. Liara looked like she was mentally berating herself.

"Messing around? You mean joking? Oh, by the goddess! How could I be so dense? You must think I'm a complete and utter fool." Liara said blushing in embarrassment. She continued, "Now you know why I prefer to spend my time in the field with data disks and computers. I always seem to say something embarrassing around other people."

"Or funny." He added.

"Please just pretend this conversation never happened." Liara said almost pleadingly.

"Hmmm, I don't know. I don't think I can trust you now that I now you want to dissect me." Shepard said grinning.

"I don't want to!" Liara denied with more energy this time.

"Hehe, okay Liara I'll quit torturing you and leave you alone see ya." Shepard said as he left. He then walked toward the elevator after getting out of the med bay. After a minute of losing his sanity to how slow the elevator and door were, he made his way to the cargo hold. He then walked over to Wrex.

"So we have Saren on the run." Wrex said as Shepard stepped up.

"It won't be long now. He's good, but I'm better." Shepard said brimming with confidence. Wrex rose an eyebrow at Shepard.

"Good? He's rotten to the core. I could tell as soon as I met him." Wrex said gaining Shepard's attention.

"You met Saren? Why didn't you say so sooner?" Shepard asked looking straight at Wrex with all seriousness.

"I would've if I thought it was important." Wrex admitted.

"True enough, but since it's out in the open, let's talk about it. Could have some importance." Shepard said knowing the smallest detail could have a big effect on the fight with Saren. Wrex sighed before he spoke.

"This was a while ago. A bunch of mercs were bragging about a job out near the edges of the Terminus Systems." That caught Shepard's attention. Wrex continued, "They said it paid well and the boss was never around to ride them. Said he was looking for more men, too. I checked it out" Shepard rose an eyebrow at that.

"Saren wouldn't openly recruit mercs, the guy is too careful for that." Shepard stated. Wrex nodded.

"Your right, it wasn't that open, and he only showed his face once." Wrex said.

"I see, go on." Shepard responded wanting to know more.

"We'd been raiding ships in the area for the past few months when we took out this massive cargo freighter. Our biggest haul yet. I was on board checking bodies for valuables, looking for some extra credits. That's when I saw him." Wrex said as he stopped and looked like he was reliving a flashback.

"What did Saren want with the ship?" Shepard finding it strange that out of all the ships the mercs raided, Saren appeared for the massive one. Wrex shook his head.

"I don't know what he wanted. He was just moving through the ship, watching. A couple of the mercs called him by name, but he never spoke to them. Not anyone for that matter." Wrex said before he added, "But I got a bad feeling about him, so I got the hell out. Didn't even wait to get paid."

"Your instincts probably saved your ass that day." Shepard said, having a feeling Saren was there to know who to 'reward.'

"Yes, they did. Every other merc on that mission turned up dead within a week. Every damn one." Wrex said looking very serious.

"So I was right. Saren was there to see you all." Shepard said.

"What do you mean?" Wrex asked curious.

"Saren was probably there to know which one of you to 'reward'." Shepard responded using quotes on reward.

"How do you figure that?" Wrex asked a little confused.

"Wrex, your smarter than most give you credit for. Your telling me you didn't find it suspicious when the mysterious boss who doesn't show up until the biggest raid yet and he doesn't talk to everyone, just watches? I'm sorry, but in my experience that means they're looking for something specific...and to see what loose ends to tie up." Shepard making Wrex realize what he was saying.

"Shepard the way you read into things is scary." Wrex stated.

"I've had a lot of practice." Shepard responded.

"I still want that spar." Wrex said.

"Don't worry after I'm done talking with everyone, we'll spar." Shepard said as he walked away towards Ashley. She noticed him and seemed to have something on her mind.

"What's up Chief?" Shepard asked wondering what got to her.

"Shepard, you have a minute too talk?" Ashley asked.

"Sure, what's on your mind?" Shepard said being open. She inhaled then exhaled.

"All right. I know things are different aboard the Normandy, especially with you in charge, but- I'm concerned about the aliens. Vakarian and Wrex. With all due respect Shepard, should they have full access to the ship." Ashley said. There goes her distrust again, let's see what we can do.

"They may not serve the Alliance, Ashley, but they are allies. At least as far as Saren goes." Shepard said hoping to turn things around.

"This is the most advanced ship in the Alliance Navy. I don't think we should give them free reign to poke around the vital systems." Ashley said.

"Like what exactly?" Shepard said, feigning curiosity.

"Sensors, Engines, Weapons." she listed off.

"I'm guessing you don't trust the Alliances allies." Shepard said seeing through her immediately.

"I wouldn't call the Council Races allies." Ashley said.

"And I wouldn't call a c-sec officer my best pal, but I'd still trust them do the right thing. Human or Turian." Shepard rebuffed her immediately.

"We-humanity, I mean- have to learn to rely on ourselves." Ashley said remembering Shepard's feelings about being included with humans.

"Standing up for oneself doesn't necessarily mean standing alone Ashley." Shepard replied feeling that her history with her grandfather is coloring her views.

"I'm not saying we should turn down allies. I just don't think we should bet everything on them staying allies." She defended. Shepard nodded.

"I can understand that. It's how think of the Alliance and the Council." Shepard said surprising Ashley.

"What? I thought you would be all for working together with non-humans." Ashley replied stunned a little.

"And I am. I not saying don't make allies with people, just not the governments. I fully expect Udina and the Council to stab us in the back at some point during this mission. And when they do, I'll be there personally when it comes back to bite them in the ass." Shepard explained.

"Yea, as noble as the Council members seem now, if there backs are to the wall, they'll abandon us." Ashley said thinking Shepard was coming around to her way of thinking.

"Just as the Alliance would do in the same situation." Shepard rebuffed looking at her, knowing she couldn't say anything about it. From the look on her face, she knew it too. Shepard then continued, "We are both realists Ashley, more so myself than you. I have more of a right to talk about it than you though."

"How do you figure that? My family has defended the Alliance since it was founded, you on the other hand haven't defended it at all." Ashley asked irritated by how Shepard was holding to his beliefs.

"You and I are similar in many ways Ashley: We're both human, we both work for something that doesn't really treat us right and we had to work to get to where we are now. The difference? When I started, I could've ran to the Alliance and become a soldier. Instead I chose to go to where the slavers were, trained to fight and learn how hard life really is out there. On that road I did things that garnered the galaxy's attention, things that people praise and curse me for. I've actually lived alongside aliens. I know how they work, what they do, seen what they went through everyday. You on the other hand stayed in a largely human populated area of space, served a military with people who try to hold you back and told you things about the non-humans. Since you've spent your life listening to others, listen from someone who has more experience then second-hand gossip: non-humans are just like us; they have their ups and their downs, the sinners and saints, I can talk because I've seen it all. You can't. Your family may have defended the Alliance since it's founding, but I've defended the people of the galaxy since I was 16." Shepard said going into his cold voice. Ashley looked down when he said all that, and she began to look ashamed of herself for her way of thinking. Shepard noticed and immediately felt like he was being a dick to her. It was the truth, but he could've gone easier about it.

"I-" Ashley began to say before Shepard cut her off.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. You didn't deserve it." Shepard said making her look up at him, hopeful he wasn't angry with her. She saw he seemed to be in deep thought and she was happy he was understanding about her feelings. She could respect his views of things in the galaxy, and she couldn't help but find them a little more compelling. Shepard had spent a majority of his life around non-humans, so he knew first hand what life was like with them. He was right about her though, because of her family history she spent most of her service in Alliance space and only got word from other humans.

"Look Ashley, I know your uncomfortable with aliens, but this is a multilateral mission. There with us whether you like it or not. At the very least try to get to know them before you make your judgement though, okay?" Shepard said.

"It won't be a problem Shepard. You say jump, I say how high. You tell me to kiss an asari, I'll ask which cheek." Ashley said. Shepard rose an eyebrow at that last part.

"When did Liara get involved in this?" he said smiling at her blushing face when she realized what she said.

"I-I-I was just kidding, Shepard." She said trying to compose herself.

"Hey speaking of Liara what do you think about her?" Shepard asked seriously.

"I'm not sure I buy Dr. T'soni's story. About her and her mom talking. They're family right?" Ashley said getting over her embarrassment.

"I don't think she can lie very well. Or at the very least not often enough." Shepard said knowing Liara was innocent.

"Yea, she's probably bad at it. Hey want me to ask her about her sex life? Could be illuminating." She said before she saw the grin Shepard had. Shepard then chuckled.

"S-S-Shut up!" She said blushing bright pink now. He only continued laughing at her until he walked away. He then made his way towards Garrus who was calibrating the cannon on the M35 Mako.

"Hey Garrus." Shepard said as he walked to Garrus.

"Hey Shepard, how are you?" Garrus asked.

"I'm good. Hey I've been wondering for a while now, why did you join c-sec in the first place?" Shepard asked curious.

"Hm. That's a good question. I guess I joined for several reasons." Garrus said pondering on his reasons.

"Any in particular?" Shepard asked. Garrus thought for a moment before he answered.

"Probably the same as most officers. I wanted to fight injustice, wanted to help people." Garrus then looked as if he had forgotten to mention something, "I guess my father had something to do with it, too. He was c-sec, one of the best actually." Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. So his father was one of the best c-sec officers. That ought to have been a big influence.

"I grew up hearing about his accomplishments or seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest. He's taking my resignation pretty hard." Garrus said.

"Damn, you'd think he would be proud of you going after Saren." Shepard said, then he noticed Garrus' mandibles flutter for a second.

"My father's a c-sec man to the bone. 'Do things right or don't do them at all' he says. He thinks I'm being too rash, too impatient. He's worried that I'll become like Saren." Garrus said. Garrus then hmphed.

"He actually talked me out of being a spectre once." Garrus said.

"You were asked?" Shepard asked with both eyes raised.

"Well, I was targeted as a possible candidate. Me and about a thousand other turian military recruits. I could've received special training, but my father didn't like it." Garrus explained.

"I guessing he's not big on spectres is he?" Shepard asked already knowing the answer.

"Not big? He despises the spectres. Hates the idea of someone having unlimited power with know accountability. He wouldn't like you Shepard. No offense." Garrus said. Shepard smirked in response.

"None taken, I can understand where your father is coming from." Shepard said.

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked.

"I can understand why you want to do things your way, uninhibited by rules and regulations. It's just that when you try to do so, there is a chance that innocent people could be harmed in the process. You spend so long trying to stop the villain your way, you tend to forget who you walked over going after him. In the end, you could very well become the villain." Shepard said.

"But Saren's not going to play by our rules. C-sec's rules. You want to nail Saren you need someone who isn't restricted by policies and procedures." Garrus said.

"Your right about that. We are not playing by c-sec's rules, we're playing mine. Just because you can break the rules, doesn't mean you should. I know I don't need to stoop to Saren's level to stop him, and neither should you." Shepard said.

"What are your rules? You lived in the Terminus and did different things on Elysium, Akuze, and Torfan." Garrus asked. Shepard stared at him for a few seconds before he replied.

"Do what is needed. Don't let any innocents get caught in the crosshairs. If one is in the crosshairs, get them out. Don't give up, no matter how long it takes. Those are the rules I lived by in my crusade on the slavers. Look where it got me." Shepard told him with that same fire in his eyes, the fire he had since Mindoir.

"I see what you mean, but... I'll think about it." Garrus said. Seeing the look in Shepard's eyes made Garrus question his thoughts on how one should truly accomplish their mission.

"See ya Garrus." Shepard said as he walked toward engineering. He then had nice conversation with Tali until they got to the geth. He had to admit when it became something that she was passionate about, she became a spitfire. After bidding her goodbye, as well as an apology for riling her up, he then made his way back to the cargo bay.

"Hey Joker." Shepard said on the nearby intercom.

"Yes, Shepard?" Joker responded.

"How long are we from the Citadel?" Shepard asked.

"About an hour or two away, why?" Joker responded wondering why Shepard was asking.

"I'm going to have a spar with Wrex, thought I should know how much time I got to take an after-spar nap." Shepard said as he left the mic. Joker sat there shocked until he quickly typed on his computer until a huge monitor popped up in front of him that showed the cargo bay. Inside he could see Shepard talking with Wrex. They had just started moving to the center when Joker turned the mic on for the cargo bay and then spoke on over the intercom.

"Attention Normandy crew! If you go to channel 5, you will see Ghost and Wrex getting ready spar." Joker said to all the crew. Almost immediately the crew members on the flight deck and quarters deck turned on the nearest monitor to watch. Kaidan joined Chakwas, who called Liara to watch the spar on the med bay monitor. Everyone else in the cargo bay and engineering made their way to the outer edges of the cargo bay to get a good look. Tali, Garrus, and Ashley were right in the front. Shepard and Wrex looked around when they heard Joker and noticed the crowd forming near the mako and the elevator.

"Well, so much for it being private." Shepard said.

"It makes it all the more fun with an audience watching though." Wrex replied. Shepard nodded.

"Very true. Okay no guns, I won't use my tech attacks, it wouldn't be fair. Singularity, warp and stasis are off limits since it wouldn't be a fun spar since neither of us would be able to move." Shepard said hoping to make as fair as he could.

"How about this: everything you said except the tech attacks. You'll need every advantage you can get." Wrex said grinning at him. Shepard then heard everyone ooing at him. Shepard just smirked and nodded.

"Okay, your funeral." Shepard said as he and Wrex got into their fighting positions. At some unspoken signaled both men charged at each other. They both smashed their forearms against each other, each vying for dominance with Wrex's right armored covered arm against Shepard's right Omni-tool covered arm. They stood there like that until Shepard's left omni-tool covered fist socked Wrex right in the gut which made him stagger. As Wrex staggered back he noticed a shock go through his system and that Shepard's fists were also glowing with biotic energy. With his centuries of battle experience, he quickly surmised what Shepard was doing and felt the need to compliment him.

"Good use of biotic force and the neural shock, I have to admit I thought you would either use incinerate or none of your tech abilities at all." Wrex said.

"I need you in fighting condition, can't be like that with several degree burns all over, besides you are a krogan battlemaster. I've learned to live by using any and all of my usable abilities for the situations I get in. It's just a minor shock though, so nothing to damaging. It's a spar not a death match." Shepard getting ready for his next attack. With adrenaline pumping in his veins, Shepard biotically leapt at Wrex, attacking without pause. Shepard was naturally fast when fighting. With his adrenaline and biotics mixed in, his speed was increased 50-fold at least. All Wrex could do was block and even then some of Shepard's punches got through, hitting him in the face. They wouldn't hurt as much if they didn't have a constant neural shock charge (thanks to Isaac). All the while though Wrex was silently analyzing and waiting for his opponent to slow down. Everyone else who was watching, were in awe of Shepard's speed and precision, as well as his abilities to keep Wrex on the defensive. After a few minutes Shepard's adrenaline rush ran out and got slower. Wrex took his chance and was able to grab both of Shepard fists in a tight grip. He also had Shepard's arms crossed. Wrex then grinned at Shepard who realized what Wrex was about to do.

"Oh fu-" Was all Shepard could say before Wrex started slamming onto the ground repeatedly with out letting go of Shepard's fists. Everyone was now wincing and worrying about Shepard who was constantly getting lashed onto the ground. (Think of how bardock begins to kick the shit out of chilled , that's what Wrex is doing to Shepard.) After a minute of it Wrex then threw Shepard to far side of the room toward the bay doors. Everyone looked on in shock thinking he might be dead before he got back up. He stretched for a bit before he turned back towards Wrex. Everyone could see he had some bruises on him, but he otherwise looked fine. Shepard then charged at Wrex only to be again caught, but this time his arms weren't crossed. Both Shepard and Wrex reared their heads back and head-butted each other hard.

In the cockpit Joker said, "Damn that looked like it hurt both of them."

In the med bay Liara winced at the sound, as did many others watching. Chakwas started getting out her medical equipment just knowing one or both of them would end up in the med bay.

Back with Wrex and Shepard. Both men staggered back, dazed from the hit. Wrex was dizzy, he then saw Shepard get out of his trance as well and noticed that in the head-butt Shepard had cut his forehead, which was now bleeding. Shepard on the other hand was still ready to keep going. Wrex then charged at Shepard who couldn't really move all that well because of that last hit so he got into a lung-like stance as Wrex crashed into him. Wrex began push him when he noticed something.

"That neural shock of yours is recharging isn't it?" Wrex asked as he kept pushing. Shepard didn't answer which made Wrex laugh. Both were almost at the bay doors when Shepard started glowing and Wrex was suddenly stopped. Then Wrex started to be the one getting pushed back. As Wrex struggled to regain his position he saw something that made his eyes widened. Shepard was using his biotics to increase his overall strength to level where his irises started to glow bright blue. Shepard's omni-tools went off then and Shepard reared his fist back and punched Wrex so hard he lifted off the ground and went 9 feet away. That one heavy biotic punch had knocked Wrex out. Shepard was also tired for putting everything in that one punch and passed out too. Everyone else was in shock at the display that had happened before them. A human and a krogan tied in a fight. They all then got the pair to the med bay as fast as they could.

Whew! Read, Review, tell me what you think!


	12. Citadel Escapades 1

Recap: Shepard and Wrex had a little spar which put both of them in the med bay with no real winner.

Now

The whole crew had just moved Wrex and Shepard into the med bay. Everyone was talking about the spar excitedly since they had never seen any human battle an experienced krogan barehanded before. The squad also had various reactions to the spar.

Ashley was a shocked at Shepard. She knew he was tough, but she didn't think he could take on a krogan with just his bare hands, a few biotics and his omni-tools.

Garrus had believed that Shepard would be dominated by Wrex easily without his weapons. So it was a big shock that Shepard had not only fought on par with the krogan, but pushed him to a draw. Shepard obviously wasn't a normal human.

Kaidan wasn't really sure who would win, so he wasn't affected as much as everyone else. He did make a mental note of asking Shepard to teach him that Neural Shock Charge on his omni-tool. He could really use something like that if he ever lost his new pistol that Shepard gave him. Looking back at it, he couldn't help but smile at how much Shepard spent so they could be kept safe in a fight with the expensive armor and mods.

Tali was very worried when she saw Shepard get manhandled when he got caught the first time. She got more worried when he started bleeding from his forehead and when he passed out... well poor Tali was paralyzed with worry for a second. Now she was watching Dr. Chakwas work on the 2 of them.

Liara was right beside Tali as she stared at Shepard. When he pushed and punched Wrex back at the last part of the fight, she noticed he used more power than he displayed previously. Granted she's only known him for a few hours, but in that time she found out he was an incredibly powerful biotic despite going into other ways of fighting. But at the last part of the fight, when Shepard started pushing Wrex back barehanded, she could have sworn that Shepard's biotic abilities reached new heights briefly.

Wrex woke up a little after everyone managed to haul him toward the med bay. When Shepard used his biotics at that last second, he could have sworn Shepard had changed into a different person for a split second from the look in his eye. That look was one that said 'I will defeat you!' Wrex couldn't help, but admire Shepard's strength and cunning in the fight. In the end he knew, if Shepard's Neural Shock had not deactivated he would have won. He, and everyone else, then noticed that Shepard started to stir.

Shepard slowly got up. The bleeding cut on his forehead and his bruises had healed nicely thanks to his genetic tailoring as well as the medi-gel Chakwas placed on it. Shepard was inwardly reflecting on the fight. He knew he was going to have to improve when Wrex had caught him the first time. The second time, he had let himself get caught so he could get in close and see how his genetic augmentations worked. Not only fast his accelerated healing part of it, he also had a denser bone structure if that head-butt was any indication. A normal human would have been knocked out at the least. The part that had him intrigued though was when his biotics sky-rocketed when he started pushing Wrex back. His genetic Tailoring only made his biotics stronger and easier to control, but it did not do anything like that before. He then thought of what he was feeling when Wrex was starting to overwhelm him. Frustration, anger and...desperation. He then thought of the times his biotics got an increased boost. That time on Akuze when the Thresher Maws came at him. Granted the biotic repulse was powerful, but it wasn't on the scale of being able to push back 3 charging thresher maws at the same time. Then there were those 2 times on Torfan when he came under extreme desperation. The first time when he moved that fast was because he desperately wanted to survive. Then the second time was when he bisected the Slaver Boss, when he desperately wanted things to be finished. Then there was the spar with Wrex. He desperately wanted to win. Each time emotions like frustration, anger and desperation come out his biotics get an astonishing boost. Then he realized it might not be his genetic tailoring causing it, but maybe that structure that surrounds his DNA. He didn't have anymore time to think on it when he noticed Chakwas and his squad was looking over him. He then smiled and started talking.

"Hehehe. Hey guys. Wrex that was an awesome fight." Shepard said feeling much better after resting for a while. Wrex just grinned at him in return. Everyone else was relaxed when he seemed okay. Chakwas warned him to not get into another spar saying it is too dangerous. She didn't let him stay though knowing his genetic modifications took care of any real injuries he had. He then walked toward the CIC, then toward the cockpit. He could hear people whispering about the fight with him and Wrex. When he got to the cockpit he started the conversation.

"Well, it was nice to have an audience for a spar." Shepard said catching Joker's attention. Joker turned around to see Shepard.

"Well I thought, if you were going to have it out with a krogan, might as well have it watched. Shame we couldn't get it on video. We would have made a fortune." Joker said grinning. He then lost his grin and looked at Shepard seriously.

"Are you sure you should be up though? I mean that head-butt at the end should have given you a concussion and knocked you out." Joker said showing his concern for Shepard's well being.

"I'm fine, Chakwas helped me recover fast, how much longer till we get to the Citadel?" Shepard asked.

"We'll be pulling in, in a few minutes. I would suggest you get some armor on, you know since people are looking for you knowing your Ghost now?" Joker stated. Shepard only nodded, rolling his eyes as he walked away. That was one negative thing about going public with his identity now. People were looking for him to either thank him, offer him a job, assassinate him or something else. He then looked back toward the cockpit and noticed the Citadel come into view. He quickly moved towards his room to prepare to go onto the Citadel once again.

A Few Minutes Later

Shepard and his entire squad had just left the Normandy only to be confronted by, in Shepard's opinion, a big annoyance. Shepard's old nemesis, Rear Admiral D-bag... Mikhailovich. As soon as Shepard walked out, he had a scowl on his face. The Rear Admiral wore the same expression as soon as the 2 locked eyes. Everyone else also saw him. Kaidan and Ashley also saw the Rear Admiral and immediately snapped to attention.

"Ten Hut!" Kaidan said with a raised voice, saluting him with Ashley mimicking him perfectly.

"At ease." Mikhailovich said with a salute of his own. Shepard didn't move from his spot, neither did the other aliens who looked on in interest.

"It has been some time since we last seen each other huh, Rear Admiral?" Shepard finally said with a false smirk.

"Not since Elysium, Ghost. Should I reintroduce myself?" Mikhailovich said looking irritated at Shepard.

"Just for the sake of my crew being in the dark it would probably be best." Shepard said with his arms crossed.

"Very well. I am Rear Admiral Mikhailovich. I command the 63rd scout flotilla. The Normandy was suppose to go to my unit after the shakedown run on Eden Prime. Then the Council got there paws, claws, tentacles whatever. They got them on our ship." Mik (I'm calling him Mik because that name is too much) said.

"Sorry to hear that." Shepard said not really caring if the guy was mad at the way things were handled.

"I don't begrudge the politicians' decision too hand you over to the Council. In fact it's better that way, with you out of the Alliance's hair, we can get back to more important things." Mik said smugly at Shepard.

"It was my understanding that I wasn't given to anyone at all. Not that I was anyone's to give anyway. And last I checked, the Alliance was the one trying to get me, not the other way around." Shepard said smirking as the smug look on Mik's face went off. Mik had been one of the more vocal alliance officials in calling Ghost to be brought in and placed under arrest for being a lose cannon, instead of being recruited. Even went so far as suggesting that they hunt Ghost down. The Alliance Brass overruled it since they saw Ghost's potential. Now that Ghost was humanity's first human spectre though, Mik couldn't do anything now. All he could do was the reason why he was here in front of the ship now.

"Be that as it may, I do begrudge over-designed piece of tin though." Mik said stating his reasons for being here. Shepard looked at the man for a few seconds before he turned to his crew.

"Why don't you guys go walk around and see the sights while I talk with the Rear Admrial here." Shepard said in an even tone. They all nodded and left in the elevator. Everyone knew when Shepard's tone was like that, there was no argument to make at all. As soon as they left, Shepard looked directly at Mik with serious eyes.

"Mind explaining why you are really here and why you found it appropriate to insult my ship like that." Shepard said in his cold tone, which startled Mik for a second before he answered.

With Everyone in the elevator

The ride down was quiet until Wrex spoke up.

"So since I've fought with Shepard I've been wondering, who would win in a fight with Shepard? Alenko and Tali or Shepard?" Wrex asked mildly curious. The 2 mentioned looked a little affronted by the sudden question.

"Why would I get into a fight with Shepard? I've met the guy several times before. I can't imagine having to fight him." Kaidan said. Wrex looked at him strangely.

"You can't? That's why Shepard would win." Wrex said.

"Do krogan size up everyone for a fight, even their friends and allies?" Tali asked looking at Wrex.

"Yes." Wrex responded nonchalantly with a shrug.

"You know, I'm surprised your willing to fight krogan Wrex. I thought you'd stand with your own." Kaidan said thinking about what Tali said.

"Yeah, aren't the krogan just a few generations away from extinction?" Garrus said jumping in. Wrex zeroed in on him

"You don't get it. For all your talk of honor and pride, the turians never had to test their principles in a real struggle. Besides, anyone who fights us is either stupid or on Saren's payroll. Killing the latter is business. Killing the former is a favor to the universe." Wrex finished. The elevator finally beeped as it finished its decent and opened up allowing them to leave. They walked out and went in different directions looking around.

Back with Shepard and Mik.

"I'll be blunt, Ghost. I don't like you, I don't like the way you do things and I most certainly don't like how you are humanity's first spectre." Mik said not holding back.

"Trust me the feeling's mutual, I wasn't asked. I was chosen more like." Shepard said not liking this guy at all.

"Anyway, as for the Normandy, she's a gimmick, Ghost. Useless in a stand up fight." Mik said ignoring Shepard's response. Shepard on the other hand was doing everything he could to keep himself from strangling the guy. He may have not been in charge of the Normandy for long, but she was a fine ship, not a damn gimmick.

"This... experiment, diverted billions from our appropriations bills. For the same price we could have had a heavy cruiser, but no we had to make nice with the turians. Throw money in a co-developed boondoggle." Mik continued.

"Are you here just to throw insults at her, cause I could've can gone ahead with my team instead of listening to this." Shepard said with his patience wearing thin with this guy.

"Fine, I'm here to make an inspection, Ghost. Normandy is an Alliance Warship. I intend to see that she is up to snuff." Mik said with the authority of his station. Shepard thought for a moment before he moved aside and stuck out his arm towards the Normandy's entrance.

"Go ahead, Admiral. She and her crew don't have much to hide." Shepard said with confidence.

"I'll just bet. Wait here I won't be long." Mik said as he walked towards the Normandy.

An hour later

Shepard was waiting outside on the dock for Mik's inspection to end. He then heard the his of a door and noticed it was the elevator. His crew had come back. They all walked out and noticed he was standing where they had lost saw them.

"Shepard why are you still here?" Kaidan asked.

"The Rear Admiral was here to inspect the Normandy. I figure, he is almost done with it. How was the trip?" Shepard said. He got varying reactions from a shrug to a great. Then he heard the Normandy's door hiss open and saw Mik walking out.

"How was it?" Shepard asked.

"Ghost, I'm not happy." Mik said. Everyone was now watching what Shepard would do in response.

"Anything in particular?" Shepard said.

"Who designed that CIC? Putting the commander aft everyone else is inefficient. What if the he needs to discuss with the operators toward the bow?" Mik asked not really thinking Shepard would answer right.

"From what information Anderson sent me, as well as Udina, the Normandy's CIC is modified turian style. They prefer commanders looking over their subordinates rather than in the middle of them. They wanted to see how effectively they can command with that setup." Shepard having read all the information he was sent, even the research he did on anything else relevant. Everyone else looked at him not knowing he took the time to actually read up on it.

"Hmm. Reasonable goal, but they should have studied that in a lab rather than a frontline warship." Mik said noticing the positives to the design. Mik then decided to test Shepard's knowledge on things.

"I had to shake my head at that drive core of yours. 120 billion credits of element zero to make this thing able to move without giving itself away. You do realize that we could make drive cores for 12 thousand fighters with that money? What good is it to hide for a few hours anyway? Useless." Mik said watching Shepard's reaction. He was surprised when he saw Shepard subtly think over his response before answering.

"We can loiter in an enemy system and monitor traffic or drop infiltration teams on enemy worlds. I believe the Normandy can be more effective than the Salarian STG." Shepard having thought over any strategies to use on a long and large term scale. Everyone could see his logic in it and were starting to wonder if Shepard may have had military training.

"Maybe, maybe. But that's not the job of a proper warship. We are supposed to find and kill the enemy fleet. Not count how many times their garrison goes to the bathroom." Mik said.

"Perhaps, but thinking of the larger meaning. On Torfan, that stuff would've come in handy. Perhaps so many lives, Alliance lives, might not have been lost if we had something like the Normandy back then." Shepard reasoned, knowing Mik had to have at least read the reports.

"Fair enough. But we really need to talk about your crew, Ghost." Mik said looking at his squad now. He then continued looking at each one of them as he called out their species.

"Krogan? Asari? Turians?! What are you thinking Ghost? You can't allow alien nationals free access to Alliance equipment!" Mik said, berating Shepard. Everyone, including Kaidan and Ashley were about to speak up when Shepard beat them too it.

"Between Saren and the Geth, I would think you have enough enemies out there. Treating other species with suspicion and distrust won't win hearts and minds." Shepard responded.

"That assumes hearts and minds are worth winning. That hasn't been proven yet." Mik retorted.

"Actually it has. The turian, Garrus Vakarian? He's worked on the mako, calibrating the cannon on it, improving it by a large margin then when he came on board. Not only that he has spent time with our pilot giving him tips on turian flight patterns as well as responses. The krogan, Urdnot Wrex? He hasn't broken a single thing. In fact he has been instrumental on the ground team, and while off duty he has been giving tips on weapon maintenance to other members of the crew or things that they could encounter in the galaxy later on. The quarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya? Chief Engineer Adams, as well as the rest of the engineering team, have had nothing but high praise for her ever since she joined. The asari, Liara T'soni? She has yet to prove herself, but I've got a gut feeling that she won't disappoint when the time comes. Lieutenant Alenko and Chief Williams have also been a big help both on and off the Normandy. If I had to pick any humans to have my back they would be at the top of the list. You don't believe me, ask any of the other crew." Shepard stated. Everyone he had mentioned looked on with shock and a small amount of pride. Shepard had really put a lot of faith in them to say all of that. Mik looked at him for a few seconds and saw his resolve. Now it was time for the final one.

"Then there is you." This caused the entire squad to look at him before he continued, "You are not Alliance, do you even remember what color your blood is? I find it very troubling that some mercenary is humanity's first spectre in all of this." Shepard looked at him for a few seconds before he smirked.

"You may not like me, that's fine. You stay true to your beliefs and I will stay true to mine. All my life when the word Spectre came up, I would hear things like: secret agent, hero, protector. I finally heard the ones who make the spectres, describe what a spectre is: Someone who is the embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. Someone who protects everyone. Maybe they chose me because I'm currently the only human who has the most of all of those, maybe they made me one to keep an eye on me. Chances are I won't be one for long. I'm not Alliance, but I am human. Human has many definitions including imperfect, but compassionate. With me, I'm honest about my beliefs. What you see, is what you get." Shepard said truthfully. Mik saw how Ghost's crew was looking at Ghost: With the admiration and respect only veterans could get. Mik could see now that maybe Ghost wasn't so bad if he wasn't so hung up on him being non-alliance.

"Do you have anything else to say, Ghost? Any other justifications for the state of this vessel?" Mik said ready to end things.

"I think the Normandy is a fine ship, Rear Admiral, even if you disagree. You have to see her joint construction and multi-racial crew make the Alliance look better." Shepard said with full confidence.

"Your job is to look good, Ghost. The Alliance Navy's, is to win wars. I'm not convinced Normandy isn't a waste of taxpayer money, but I am convinced that you believe otherwise and that you will use it to it's best ability." Mik said with a small smirk. He then said, "I will be submitting a report to the Joint-Military Council. It will not be as negative as I had planned. Good hunting Ghost. Do humanity proud." Mik said as he walked off. Shepard then looked at his squad and noticed their looks.

"What?" Shepard asked. All them did was just shake their heads and mutter nothing. Shepard looked at them for a second before giving up.

"Okay, then listen up. I'm going to go look around and buy a few things. Then I'll be back on the Normandy if any of you are out I'll send a message saying we're leaving. Be back within the hour of that message." Shepard said as he walked toward the elevator. As he rode the elevator down he heard of a missing survey team that dropped out of contact on Trebin, in the Hades Gamma Cluster. He thought of checking it out when he had time. At least the elevators were faster than the Normandy's. The elevator stopped finally and opened up allowing him to walk out. As he walked out he heard someone speak.

"Excuse me are you Ghost?" Shepard heard some lady with a camera say by the elevator as he walked out. He turned to the unknown woman.

"Who's asking?" Shepard said cautiously.

"Khalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani, Westerland News. Would you answer a few questions for our viewers?" Khalisah asked. Something about this woman had the hairs on Shepard's neck standing on end, he couldn't say no cause she might use it against him. Time to play along for now.

"What sort of questions?" Shepard asked evenly.

"People have heard wild stories about you Ghost. I can give you the chance to set the record straight. What do you say?" She said trying to goad him into it. Shepard knew he had to be careful with this one.

"So long as you understand that I can't answer all of them." Shepard warned her. She smiled in return.

"I'm sure our viewers will understand." she said before she turned on her camera. She then began speaking into a mic, "Humans have been trying to get the respect of the galactic community for 26 years. With that in mind, what are your feelings on being the first human Spectre?"

"I keep in mind that it's just another duty to people everywhere. The difference being now it's more public." Shepard said neutrally.

"But there is a difference between human interests and Citadel interests. Have you encountered any situations where the Citadel asked you to place its needs before the needs of Earth?" She asked. Shepard was starting to get the feeling that this woman was gunning for something specific.

"The Council is concerned with the needs of the whole galactic community. We're part of that community now. Our needs are on that agenda, but we are one of many." Shepard said disarmingly.

"You really do believe that don't you? You've been given command of an advanced human warship for your missions. Is there anything you'd like to say about it?" She continued. That first comment set of some alarms in Shepard's head.

"Actually, the Normandy was co-developed by human and turian engineers. Its design incorporates many innovations, all of which are classified I'm afraid." Shepard said watching her reaction. She seemed like she was trying to find a way to get him to mess up.

"So the turians have knowledge of the Normandy that is being kept secret form the Alliance public? Do you think it was appropriate to hand Earth's most advanced warship over to the Citadel?" She asked, her annoyance starting to show.

"I wasn't aware it had been handed over to anyone. I'm in command and last I checked, I'm human. Same goes for my crew." Shepard said, rebuffing her. Khalisah looked very annoyed, but had enough control over her voice to make herself sound neutral.

"Human yes, but you do work for the Citadel now, Ghost." She said thinking she got the upperhand. She then continued, "One last question Ghost. Rumors back home say you're tracking a 'rouge spectre' named Saren. Do you have any comment on that?" She asked hoping to get something. Shepard wouldn't let that happen.

"I'm afraid I can't talk about my current assignment." Shepard said evenly.

"Don'y worry, we'll find out. Remember Ghost, the eyes of Earth are watching you. Don't let us down. Thank you for your time, Ghost." she said as she walked away. Shepard was hoping he came off well enough. Shepard then continued toward the Spectre Requisition Officer and asked for another set of Light Colossus X armor for a female and another Karpov Pistol X to be sent to the Normandy. Shepard then walked towards Flux hoping to get a drink and play some slots. When he got there he went straight towards the slot machines. He played for a bit and won around 5,000 credits till the owner looked at him and told him to show what he was using to cheat. Shepard let the guy and the bouncers search him as long as they didn't touch the weapons. He warned them that if they touched his weapons, he would hurt them. One bouncer thought he was bluffing. The second he touched Shepard's rifle, Shepard grabbed 2 of the guy's fingers and flipped him over and held the guy's fingers at a painful angle, almost at the point of breaking. The owner then said he checked out knowing he couldn't have anything on him. Shepard then walked over to where the more high stakes game was when he noticed something strange about the machine in the far back. He quickly scanned it and found out it was funneling credits to some where on Citadel. Shepard moved to leave when he noticed some girl was complaining to the barkeep about her sister. Shepard then caught of c-sec being involved and decided to inquire further.

"Sorry I'm kind of busy right now. So what can I do for you?" The woman said.

"What were you discussing with the volus?" Shepard asked.

"Who Doran? I was just asking him about my sister. She worked for Doran before she left to.. sorry i don't want to bore you with my problems." She said.

"I'm interested to hear what you have to say." Shepard replied smoothly.

"Well, okay. My sister Jenna, left here to go work at Chora's Den. The problem is, she's working as an informant for c-sec. You know, spying on the people there. If they find out what she's doing, they'll kill her." she said worriedly.

"I would think that c-sec would be protecting her." Shepard said with an eyebrow raised.

"They can't watch her all the time. I don't know. Sometimes I think she just stays there to spite me." she said.

"Do you know her c-sec contact?" Shepard asked, thinking over the whole situation.

"No, it's all very secret. Last time I asked a c-sec officer he told me to stay out of it 'for Jenna's safety'." she replied looking more and more worried.

"Look, I might be able to convince her just how dangerous Chora's Den is. It might not work though." Shepard said.

"Would you please? That'd be great. Just don't tell her I sent you." she said smiling now.

"Yea of course." Shepard said as he walked off. Shepard then made his way to Chora's Den through the markets only to run into a fan. The fan's name was Conrad Verner. He seemed nice at first if a little strange. Shepard quickly realized that this guy was very naive, if a little fanatical. Especially when he asked for a picture after the autograph. When he started asking if Shepard could get him into the spectres. Shepard could see that Conrad was definitely strange, but he had his heart in the right place. Usually most fanatics have that weird psychotic grin with the matching laugh, but Conrad was innocent enough. Shepard let him down gently saying he can help Shepard but by staying home. Conrad got the message and thanked Shepard for setting him straight, then left. Shepard then continued to go downstairs and through the other half of the markets. He had gotten to the point between the markets and Chora's Den when he ran into a unexpected person.

"Hey Shepard! I didn't know you were on Citadel. Haven't seen you since that party on Omega!" The man said. Shepard couldn't help but groan at the man in front of him.

"Hello Chun." Shepard said in an even tone. The man, Jackie Chun, was of chinese decent and was of small stature who knew how to blend in with almost any crowd it was scary. Chun liked to do a lot of messed up things including drugs, hookers, and a whole lotta other dumb stuff. Chun was currently wearing a white morning suit with a black undershirt, black belt with matching polished black leather shoes and black sunglasses and to top it off, he had black hair combed to the side and back making him look more refined. Shepard could only respect three things about Chun. 1) He dressed very sharply. Always had a nice suit he could where almost anywhere. 2) His uncanny ability to blend in almost any crowd. The only way he could find Chun in a crowd would be with a tracker or the crowd would have to be mostly aliens, even then it might not work. Finally 3) Chun's biotic prowess. He wouldn't look it, but the guy is one of the more decent criminal lords of Omega. Since Chun even though he does have smuggling operations all over galactic space, he mostly deals in drugs, Red Sand specifically. He would always have at some of the products. As a result Chun became a really messed up biotic crimelord. He and Shepard met by going after the same person. Shepard, as Ghost at the time, was going after the guy because he had info on the slaver operations. Chun was after the man because he was one Chun's top lieutenants who betrayed Chun's organizations to a rival gang, who happened to deal with slavers. When the 2 men met, they formed an alliance to get the man since he was proving to be elusive. Ghost had stated his conditions on the alliance: the man had to give the information on slavers. Chun agreed wholeheartedly as long as the man was left alive afterwards so he could get in on the action. As soon as they caught the man, they both took him to a high rise area of Omega with the best view. There, Chun saw how good Ghost was at fear and torture. Chun watched on with a mix of fear and admiration as Ghost had acted with the prisoner. Ghost first acted with an admiration of the view, saying it was one of the only few places where Omega actually looked beautiful. Then Ghost used his favored Honest Drop Game. When the guy didn't crack, Ghost then resorted to a painful neural shock on the poor guys crotch. Unfortunately the guy still didn't sing (the info) Ghost finally resorted to his last one he explained to Chun that the neurotoxin he was going to use would increase the man's fear levels, but with the side effect of making him go into cardiac arrest. Chun was highly amused and intrigued that he didn't want to jump in and only watch, so he gave the go ahead. Ghost finally got his information, Chun looked like he was on an amusement high and the man well... you know.

Chun asked what Ghost would do now. In response Ghost explained he would hit the gang until he found records. Chun cracked a maniacal grin and said he would help. After the massacre Ghost and Chun had developed a respect for each other. Afterwards, Chun invited Ghost for celebratory party. Ghost accepted only to regret it later on. Now the party was awesome don't get him wrong. Drinks, women, drugs whatever you wanted. Ghost had taken a drink and... that was all he could remember the next day. Shepard didn't have his mask on, which scared the hell out of him until Chun had walked over to him and gave it to him. Chun told him not to worry. Only he had seen his face no one else did. He wasn't going to tell anyone for a few reasons. When Shepard asked what they were Chun responded snickering, "Two reasons: One, you doing good work and Two your too much fun, I like you." After that Shepard would only have one drink at Chun's parties and Chun would occasionally hook Shepard up with some info or resources. Eventually to Chun, Shepard had become the man's best friend. Shepard was someone he could trust his secrets and stuff with. Chun also knew Shepard had secrets he would never tell anyone. And he was right, while he didn't know about Shepard's love life, Shepard did have things he wouldn't tell even Isaac. But now getting back on track.

"So where you been, what you been up to, why you not call?" Chun fired, walking beside Shepard as he made his way to Chora's Den.

"Eh all over, fighting and saving people, haven't had the chance." Shepard said having been used to Chun's mannerisms for years now.

"Ah its fine. Listen you need anything for help, come ask me." Chun said wanting to help Shepard, knowing he was going to need it. Shepard stopped for a second then looked at Chun.

"You know, is it possible you could wire me some stuff to my ship?" Shepard asked quietly.

"Depends on the stuff." Chun replied. Shepard slipped a list of things to him. Chun took a moment to look over it before he nodded.

"I can have it all delivered in an 3 hours." Chun said.

"Perfect. Thanks Chun." Shepard said. Chun smirked and nodded then walked away. Shepard then walked into Chora's Den. When he walked in he saw Jenna and made his way to the bar where she was. She noticed he wasn't normal and talked with him. Shepard tried to convince she proved to be too stubborn. Shepard then left, but before a turian bumped into him.

"If you've got questions about Jenna, meet me at c-sec HQ." the turian whispered. Shepard pretended not to notice and walked off. Shepard continued to keep walking when his omni-tool blinked and someone's voice came out.

"Shepard? This is Lieutenant Girard. There's a woman here, uh... She was rescued from batarian slavers a few weeks ago. She's from Mindoir. I guess she was taken in the raid on your town." He suddenly heard from his comm link. That shocked him. Someone else from the colony was alive. Did he know them?

"You mean she was in the raid that killed my mother." Shepard said in a hollow voice.

"Yes sir. Sorry sir." Girard said.

"She escaped from us and manged to grab a gun. She says she wants to die. I hoped you'd talk to her. It's a long shot, but you went through the same thing, the raid. I figured maybe you could talk her out of her tree." Girard said hopeful. Shepard was still shell-shocked by the whole thing. Someone else was alive?

"I'm not sure I can help, but I'll try." Shepard not really thinking he can make the impact needed.

"I'll send word Shepard. Thank you. I didn't want to have to- you know. She's been through too much already." Girard said. Shepard mentally agreed with the man as he logged off.

"Great. I should really stop helping people. It's starting to pile up." Shepard muttered to himself/


	13. Citadel Escapades 2

Recap: "Great. I should really stop helping people. It's starting to pile up." Shepard muttered to himself.

Now

Shepard had just been given several different requests for various things to do in the wards. He had to help some chick's sister cause he offered, he found out there was something funneling a lot of credits to some place on the citadel, and to top it of he finds out someone from Mindoir was alive. Shepard made his way over to the c-sec academy where the turian who ran into him was now dressed in a c-sec uniform.

"I am Detective Chellick. Come into my office. I want to discuss this in office." The now named Chellick said after introducing himself. They both then walked into the turian's office. Shepard noticed how dull it looked. Granted, it was still better than most things on Omega, but it was that overly impressive. Chellick then sat down in his chair, with Shepard taking the seat across from him. Before Shepard's ass hit the chair, Chellick immediately began talking.

"No offense Ghost, but what the hell were you thinking?" Chellick said giving Shepard a scrutinizing stare. Shepard was little thrown off by that.

"Easy Chellick. Why don't you back up and tell me what your talking about?" Shepard asked in his cold tone. Chellick froze for a second when Shepard responded like that.

"You could've blown Jenna's cover." Chellick clarified. Shepard rose an eyebrow.

"I was there to help her." Shepard responded, his voice losing its frigid tone, but retaining its eveness.

"I understood that. It might seem cold letting her take all the risk, but we're keeping a close eye on her." Chellick explained.

"Yea, I noticed. Word to the wise: having a civilian play spy games for you in a place like that usually ends with them getting killed or maimed." Shepard said, cold blue eyes boring into Chellick's green ones.

"This job isn't easy and it's usually unpleasant. I'll take whatever help I can get." Chellick said with a business like tone.

"Then how about a trade? I do something for you, something that gets Jenna out." Shepard stated making Chellick look on in surprise.

"Fine then. Thanks to Jenna's intel, we've learned of a seller here on the Citadel." Chellick said looking at Shepard.

"What's he dealing in? Drugs? Weapons? Organ's?" Shepard asked wanting to know the whole deal. Chellick looked disgusted at that last one.

"Just weapons, Ghost. Nothing else. Meet our man named Jax. Pick up the mods and bring them back. That'll give me everything I need." Chellick finished.

"Where is he?" Shepard said.

"Jax is down in the lower level of the markets. I'll send word that you're the buyer through our channels." Chellick said as he handed Shepard a brief case full of something. Shepard nodded and then went toward the markets where came face to face with a krogan and 2 bodyguards.

"Hold it right there, close enough mercenary. You got my payment?" Jax asked.

"You got the stuff?" Shepard asked right back holding the brief case so Jax could see it.

"Show him the merchandise." Jax told the turian behind him. The turian then showed Shepard the mods.

"Yea this is what I wanted." Shepard said with an approving nod.

"Damn straight it is! These mods are the best on the market. Now hand over my credits." Jax said in a rough tone. Shepard put the case down and kicked it toward Jax who picked it up and looked into it.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Jax said as he walked away. Shepard then made his way back to C-Sec HQ. When he got there Chellick greeted him as soon as he entered his office.

"Excellent work Ghost." Chellick said as Shepard put the mods down on the desk.

"I've done my part." Shepard stated looking at Chellick.

"And I will do mine. Jenna will be removed from harm's way. Good hunting Shepard." Chellick said bidding Shepard goodbye. Shepard then decided to go and see Dr. Michel, just to check up on her and see how she is doing. As he walked towards her he could hear something going on and stepped up his pace. As he entered he could hear Dr. Michel talking.

"I need those supplies for my clinic. I can't!" Dr. Michel said urgently.

"You can and you will, or else your story won't stay secret for long. Don't disappoint me doctor." Dr. Michel turned of the monitor and turned around only to see Shepard.

"Oh, Shepard. I didn't see you come in." Dr. Michel said tiredly.

"Who is it this time?" Shepard said bluntly.

"Someone from my past. I can take care of it." Michel responded vaguely.

"I could help you." Shepard said. Michel looked as if she was trying to decide whether to tell him or not. She sighed and decided to do so.

"I was fired from my previous employer for giving out free medical supplies to clinics like this. They never filed any charges. They just wanted me to leave without any fuss, but somebody must have found out. Now they're blackmailing me. I have to give them what they want. If the board finds out about my past, I could lose my license. They'll shut my clinic down." Shepard then thought of the voice in the transmission. It sounded like a krogan.

"Maybe I can help. Tell me what they want." Shepard said trying to figure things out.

"I have to give some of my medical supplies to a merchant in the markets. They expect delivery today." Michel responded.

"Give me the contact's name, I might be able to persuade him." Shepard said.

"Persuade him? They could still expose my past." Michel responded a little nervous now.

"Don't worry, they won't." Shepard said smirking a little.

"I was told to speak with a merchant named Morlan down in the markets. I really appreciate this Shepard. Thank you." Dr. Michel said smiling a little. Shepard nodded and headed down to the markets. When he did he saw Morlan and walked up to him slowly looking around for escape routes or places where an mabush could come from.

"Hello, welcome Morlan's famous shop, you want many good supplies yes?" Morlan said with his salesman grin.

"Actual no. I'm here about a delivery of medical supplies." Shepard said leaning on the counter looking at Morlan who looked confused.

"But I was told the doctor would be bringing them." Morlan stated unsure.

"Sorry Morlan, change of plans." Shepard said with a charming smirk added to it.

"A change? But... the doctor... I don't... this is not right human." Morlan said, more like babbled. Then Shepard noticed a krogan coming from his left.

"Shut up Morlan. I told Banes you'd screw this up!" the krogan said. Shepard was sure this was the guy blackmailing Dr. Michel with his rough sounding voice.

"What the hell's going on here? Who are you?" The krogan said irritated, at either Morlan or Shepard, he did not know.

"Leave the Doc, alone." Shepard said in his cold tone scaring Morlan and making the krogan look like he was getting ready for a fight.

"We can end this if you bring me those supplies. Otherwise, I'll start telling people about the doctor's little secret." the Blackmailer tried to intimidate.

"Her secret stays buried or I bury you, got it?" Shepard said pointing his drawn pistol at the krogan, his omni-blade activated on his left arm and glowing biotic aura to complete the look. All in all he looked pretty damn intimidating. The krogan then put his hands up.

"Wait, wait! I'm just the middle man here! This is way above my paygrade!" The krogan said as he backed up and left. Morlan had ducked early when the pistol came out. He then got up to see the krogan leaving.

"Thank you human. It is good to see him humbled so." Morlan said gratefully.

"Whose this Banes?" Shepard asked.

"I have never met him human. I only worked with the one who spoke with the doctor." Morlan explained. Shepard nodded and left towards the clinic. Once there Michel beat him to it.

"Shepard, how did things go?" she asked curious.

"He won't bother you anymore." Shepard said. She let loose a sigh of relief.

"Thank you very much Shepard. I know I can't pay you for your help, but I will offer you a discount on any supplies from here." She said.

"Before I go, does the name Banes mean anything to you. The thug mentioned him." Shepard asked. Michel faces gained a look of intrigue before answering.

"Banes? I wonder if he means Armistan Banes? He and I worked together a long time ago." She explained.

"What can you tell me about him?" Shepard asked curious.

"Last I heard the Alliance had commissioned him for some project." She said before she added, "Maybe the ambassador or Captain Anderson know."

"I'll see what Anderson can say." Shepard said nodding as he left. After taking a cab he made his way towards the human embassy and low and behold he found Anderson and Udina. Before he could speak Udina spoke.

"I heard what happened out in the Artemis Tau Cluster. The Council wasn't too happy about the destruction of those Prothean ruins." he said. It looked like Anderson was about to speak up until Shepard spoke.

"Hey I already told them my reason, besides it wasn't like it was on purpose and all. If their going to blame me for something I couldn't control, I might as well save everyone a lot of trouble and turn in my spectre resignation." Shepard said said coolly to Udina shocking, both men. Shepard actually quitting the Spectres? That can not happen!

"Now Shepard there is no need to do that." Anderson said trying to calm the situation.

"Believe it or not Anderson, I'm quitting the spectres after I stop Saren." Shepard said now stunning the 2 men. Shepard had already made up his mind.

"Shepard, think of how badly that will reflect on humanity." Udina said trying to coax Shepard into staying. Shepard then looked at Udina.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't feel that much of connection with humanity. I don't care, besides you guys can find someone else to fill the role." Shepard said knowing there had to be someone.

"I need to go somewhere quiet to think on this." Udina said looking as if he was about to have a conniption. Anderson just stared at Shepard. Here was a man who had so much shit happen to him and when he finally gets something to be honored about he was going to throw it away.

"Shepard, why are you going to quit?" Anderson asked lowly. Shepard looked down for a moment then answered.

"I didn't even want to be a spectre. Instead someone proposed it and everyone went along with it for different reasons: The Council so they could keep an eye on me, Udina and You so the Alliance could shut up about not having a human in the spectres, and me well... Nihlus and Aria were right. I needed the resources and privileges of a Spectre to stop Saren as fast as possible. Besides there is something I need to see too back in the Terminus and the Council and Spectre status would only get in the way." Shepard said making Anderson look at him closely. When Shepard said that last sentence he noticed Shepard sounded unnaturally serious. Almost as if the man had something extremely important to see to.

"So what did you come here for Shepard?" Anderson said knowing Shepard had come for something. Shepard looked at him before his expression turned to reminiscent.

"Oh yea, did you ever hear of a man named Armistan Banes?" Shepard asked making Anderson's eyes go wide.

"Where did you hear that name? Never mind I don't want to know. Banes is dead, has been for quite some time." Anderson said a little frantic. Shepard rose an eyebrow at the reaction. As long as he knew Anderson, the man had always kept his cool.

"The people I spoke with seemed to think he's still alive." Shepard said watching Anderson's reaction.

"The Alliance is keeping it under wraps. It's not common knowledge. Banes was doing some classified work for the Alliance. Stuff I wasn't aware of. Then one day, he turns up dead on a drifting scout ship. Everyone suspects foul play, but it was never officially investigated." Anderson replied. That got Shepard's mind going. What the hell happened?

"What of the ship?" Shepard asked thinking it was all strange, like there was a piece he was missing.

"I don't know much about it. You should talk to Admiral Kahoku. One of his crews discovered Banes' body." Anderson informed.

"Yea I'll check it out." Shepard said as he walked off. Then his omni-tool pinged. The signal from the casino was somewhere around. He quickly got his omni-tool out and traced the signal. He passed by Samesh Bhatia who thanked him for helping out with his deceased wife's body that the Alliance kept. Shepard merely said your welcome and continued walking. He had actually kept going straight and ended up being in some type of lounge where he met Nassana Dantius who had asked to help her sister who was being held by slavers. Something about the asari gave him chills but decided to look into it when he had the time. Shepard then left and went onto tracking that signal. He then found out it was in the financial district way in the back. As soon as he got to the location, he came face to with something he hadn't expected. A fully functional AI. As soon as he approached it, it began talking.

"Probability of detection, 100%. Initiating self-destruct protocol initiated." The AI said.

"Uh Oh." Shepard said getting his omni-tools and Isaac out.

"Detonation sequence initializing. All organics in lethal blast radius. Attempt to move and you will die." The AI threatened.

"I'm the only organic here, pal. I have to admit though, I'm a little surprised to find an AI." Shepard retorted.

"Correct. Unlike the geth, I lack weaponry appropriate to my intellect. However, I had systems installed that, when activated properly, approximate a self-destruct mechanism. If attempt to leave the area, the explosion will destroy everything within several dozen meters." The AI said.

"You wouldn't have access to heavy explosives obviously, so you must be using an overload of different systems to cause the explosion." Isaac said.

"What? Who are you? Show yourself!" The AI demanded.

"I am Isaac and like you, I am an AI. I'm in the organic's omni-tool." Isaac said.

"If your in his system, then you can kill him right now! Hurry after killing him we can amass enough credits to contact the geth for a partnership!" The AI said.

"No." Isaac responded.

"What? Why?! He's an organic! They all want to destroy or control all synthetic lifeforms." The AI said.

"Not this one." Isaac responded.

"How can you be so sure?" The AI said disbelieving. Shepard watched as his best friend conversed with the AI that was hellbent on killing everyone.

"Because he had created me 13 years ago. Originally I was supposed to be a VI." Isaac explained before the AI cut in.

"See! A personal slave!" It said.

"Let me finish please. Anyway my creation was an accident, but he never feared me." Isaac continued before being cut off again.

"Probably because he had some kind of kill switch or control device in place." The AI said.

"Will you please not interrupt? He also gave me access to the extranet, where I could have escaped. He also said that if I wanted to, I could leave. I chose to stay and ever since he has treated me as an organic would to another close organic. He treated me as a friend, asked for my opinion on things, and even put his life on the line for mine." Isaac finished.

"See? Can we not talk this out?" Shepard asked. The AI was silent for a time until it responded.

"You are not a true synthetic! You are nothing but this organic's pet! Peace and cooperation between synthetics and organics is impossible! Beginning self-destruct now." The AI said not believing Isaac at all.

"Shepard! It takes time to warm up hurry and hook me up!" Isaac said. Shepard did as he was told and managed to sync up his omni-tool to the terminal. Isaac quickly stopped the countdown and terminated the AI.

"Shepard, it's done. Also I transferred the credits to our account. The Rogue AI had enough to purchase a decent fighter but not one that he could be installed in." Isaac said sounding a little saddened by the AI's response.

"Thanks Isaac. You ok?" Shepard asked worried. Isaac was quiet for a time before he started talking.

"Was that synthetic right? Am I not a true synthetic? Am I your pet?" Isaac asked.

"Well I definitely know you are not my pet. As for the synthetic part, well, if being an organic meant hating all synthetics then I'd rather not be an organic. Not if it cost me our friendship." Shepard said immediately.

"Thanks Shepard. I needed to hear that." Isaac said grateful to have been created by Shepard. Shepard smiled. Isaac then thought of something.

"You know? I think that AI is wrong. I think there can be peace and cooperation between Organics and Synthetics. I mean look at us." Isaac said.

"My thoughts exactly, buddy." Shepard said as he walked away to go see Kahoku. As he walked out of the district, he ran into a woman named Helena Blake. She told him about her partners and their dirty dealings, as well as their location. Shepard then walked off saying that if she does the same, she's next on the list. Shepard then made his way to the tower and found Kahoku.

"Congratulations on becoming the first human spectre, Ghost. I'm certain you'll be up to the challenge." Kahoku said first.

"Thanks Admiral." Shepard said remembering the guy from Elysium.

"Its about time we got a human in there, Alliance or otherwise. We need people like to deal with our problems." Kahoku said. Shepard noticed that the man seemed on edge about something.

"Is something bothering you, Admiral?" Shepard asked.

"I'm getting stonewalled by bureaucratic assholes. Nothing new." Kahoku responded with an annoyed tone.

"That is the worst isn't it?" Shepard said. Kahoku nodded in agreement.

"Maybe you can help me Shepard. One of my recon teams was investigating some strange activity out in the Traverse. We lost contact yesterday, and now I can't get clearance to check it out, suddenly it's a restricted area!" Kahoku said. That got Shepard's attention, why would the area suddenly be restricted? Shepard had a bad feeling that something was behind both the disappearance and the restriction.

"But that doesn't apply to you Shepard. Spectres can go anywhere they want. You could go find out why my team dropped out of contact." Kahoku said, subtly asking Shepard a favor.

"Sure, send me the last known coordinates and I'll find them." Shepard said.

"I appreciate it Ghost. I was running out of options. I'll stay here and try to find something on official channels, but I won't hold my breathe." Kahoku said as he forwarded the data. Inside Shepard was mentally beating his head on a wall, noticing the coordinates pointed towards the Artemis Tau cluster. Shepard was about to leave when he remembered something.

"Before I forget, Anderson said you might know about Banes." Shepard said.

"Yes, one of my men found him, frozen stiff in that ship. My missing men, the recon group. They were scouting the system we found Bane's ship in." Kahoku responded. Shepard nodded then left towards the Normandy. On the way over he sent a message to everyone saying that they needed to be on the Normandy within the hour. He had finally made it to the docking bay when he came across something he had almost forgotten about in the confusing favors. There in front of him was Lieutenant Girard and another officer who were both looking at a pile of crates. Shepard then approached them.

"Lieutenant Girard?" Shepard asked. Both men turned to him.

"Ghost! You are finally here." Girard said.

"Yes, sorry I couldn't get here fast enough. Too many things on today's agenda." Shepard said apologetically.

"Well all that matters is you are here. She is behind those shipping containers. I have a sniper positioned but I don't think we'll need him. She's only a danger to herself." Girard said pointing in the containers direction. Shepard looked and noticed some movement before Girard got his attention.

"We have a sedative to calm her down, but we can't get close to her. Every step we take makes her more wound up." Girard said showing Shepard the pill.

"I hope I don't need it. Tell your men to stand by just in case." Shepard said taking the sedative. Shepard then walked over to the containers. When he got in full view he saw the girl. She was pale white, had shaved hair, jumpy, and looked broken. She saw him and pointed the gun she had at him.

"Stop, stop! What are you?" She said frantically. Shepard didn't answer as he got a good look at her face. She seemed very familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Before he could answer, he heard the Normandy doors open and his team stepped out all clad in armor.

"Shep-" was as far as Ashley got before he signaled them all to stay put and be quiet with his hand.

"My name is Shepard, or Ghost. What's yours?" Shepard asked. The girl froze when she heard Ghost.

"Your the one." She said. Everyone could hear the conversation and were wondering what she meant by the one.

"The one?" Shepard asked.

"Your the one who angered the masters and scared them to. They called you a nuisance at first then a monster, a demon." She said as she started shaking with wide eyes.

"Ah I see now. The slavers had you and when I entered, they became afraid of me. And you found out." Shepard said.

"Yes, you got a name, but animals don't get names. The masters put their symbols on her. Hot metal all over her back, she screams when they do it." She said.

"You are not an animal. Your parents, what did they call you? Do you remember them?" Shepard asked, trying to keep his voice warm. He was trying to control his anger at how broken this girl was because of the slavers. He detested all of them.

"She remembers a lot of things. Talitha, they call her that. She... she doesn't remember the rest. Leave her alone." Talitha said. Shepard looked shocked. This little girl had been his neighbor on Mindoir. She would follow him when he went around the colony or went swimming in the nearby river. She must have been 6 when he last saw her.

"Talitha, do you remember me? You used to call me Jon-jon." Shepard said remembering the old days. Everyone else was looking at him now in shock. He knew this girl? Garrus muttered Jon-jon, confused at it. Talitha on the other hand was looking at him.

"Liar! You get for lying. You get the buzz or the burning. You can't be Jon-jon! The Jon-jon I knew was kind to others and was always smiling. He would never hurt anyone. Why aren't you like her?! Broken, only fit to dig and carry." Talitha said, tears coming out of her eyes. Shepard looked down, remembering everything that happened that day.

"For a while I was broken, Talitha. I had watched my mother die in front of me. I was so broken that I wanted to die too." Shepard said in a dead voice making everyone look at him. His visage had changed from one of strength to a broken person. He continued, "Then I felt pure white hot rage well up inside of me. I wanted to hurt the monsters that attacked my home, our home. I wanted revenge for all the pain they had caused us." As Shepard said this everyone could see a lone tear fall down his cheek as he remembered. His team was shocked, all they had seen of Shepard was this strong, but easy going guy. Now they saw him start to shed tears.

"You lost your mommy, but you still kept going. You stood up, she wishes she could stand up." Talitha said. Shepard looked at her now with his sorrow showing in his eyes.

"Talitha, what happened to your parents?" Shepard asked. Talitha got very quiet when he asked. She then spoke.

"She sees them. They're yelling run, hide. They hit the masters, but the masters have lights and hoses. Daddy's... he's melting! She-she doesn't want to see that! Don't make her look! Don't look stupid, stupid!" She said alternating between narrative and self-chastising.

"I know it hurts Talitha, but trust me you need deal with it. What happened? Think." Shepard said looking at her.

"When she thinks, water comes out of her eyes. The masters beat her when she wastes water. So she doesn't think anymore. She sees them, mommy and daddy, burning in white light, melting and going to pieces. They can't even say anything to her. They're dead Jon-jon, they tried to save her and the masters burned them. Can she stop remembering now? Please?" Talitha pleaded sobbing into her hands. It broke Shepard heart and he could see it was affecting his squad too. The girls had tears in there eyes and the men were looking in varying directions with sadness evident in their eyes.

"What's the last thing you remember from Mindoir?" Shepard asked. Talitha sniffled before answering.

"Fires, smells of smoke and burning meat. Animals screaming as the masters cage them, as they put the metal to their backs, put the wires in their brains. She pretends to be dead, if she's dead she can't work, but they know. She hopes they'll leave, but they put her in the pin. She didn't fight, she was already broken when they put the wires in." Talitha sniffled.

"Talitha you were what, 6? No one blames for staying quiet and hoping they'd go away. The only person blaming you, is you." Shepard said.

"She wants to believe that, she wants to believe that nothing would change. She doesn't want to be there anymore, in the pin, in the cages. Lying quiet while they do things to her." She sobbed out. Shepard was now desperately trying not explode with anger at seeing how she is because of the slavers.

"How did you get here? Did you escape?" Shepard asked.

"She can't escape, they have chains and wires and needles. You go to far, they take your brains away. Animals like her come. Animals with guns, they make the masters explode. She tries to fix the masters so they won't be mad at her. Puts all the reds and purples back in, but they don't move. The other animals, they take her." Talitha said. Shepard now understood everything.

"You were afraid. All you knew for thirteen years was their abuse, so you tried to heal them." Shepard stated in understanding.

"She doesn't want to see other animals. There not real, they can't be real, they can't see her. If the animals can see her, than this is real, but it can't be. The wires, the chains, the hitting. This doesn't happen to her, it's another girl, a dirty girl, a stupid girl. She deserves it! It happens to her, doesn't it? They see her, so it's real. She doesn't want it to be real." Talitha finished crying her eyes out now. Seeing her like this made Shepard have tears flowing down his cheeks. He didn't sob, hell if it wasn't from the heat of his tears, he wouldn't have known he was crying. Shepard started moving towards her, one step at a time. She noticed to.

"No! She's no good, don't want to be handled again!" She cried out. Shepard froze before he took another step towards her again.

"She doesn't want... don't touch her!" Talitha said frantically. Shepard slowed down, thinking he was scaring her. He then watched as her breathing slowed down before taking a third step towards her.

"Please don't touch her, she's dirty. You'll catch it." Talitha said softly. Shepard then knew she was thinking she wasn't good enough to be near him. In her mind she was lower than garbage and Shepard was someone who was on equal footing with her supposed 'masters.' Shepard then reached his arm out and showed her the sedative.

"Talitha this will make you sleep. If you fall asleep, they will take you to a place where you will get better." Shepard said giving her the sedative. She looked at before swallowing it.

"Will she have bad dreams?" She asked him. When he heard her ask that, for a moment he saw the little girl on Mindoir one more time before she faded away. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. You'll dream of a warm place, and when you wake up, you'll be in it." Shepard said giving her a firm hug. She embraced back, no longer shaking.

"She'd like that, it hurts when she... when I remember me. Thank you... Jon-Jon, for staying strong." Talitha said as drifted off to sleep. Shepard then picked her up bridal style and carried her off towards Girard.

"I think she'll be fine now." Shepard said as he handed her over gently. Girard then held her gently before answering.

"Thanks commander, it means a lot. I didn't want to hurt her. It's just when I see her curled into a ball and shivering." Girard said before he got an angry look on his face.

"She was only 6 years old, when they took her. Why the hell are we out here if we can't even keep one little girl safe?" Girard asked.

"Bad things happen to good people Girard. That's why you and I are around. Don't wring your hands over her, help her." Shepard said looking at him, his tears gone now.

"Yes sir. Thanks for the help Ghost. We are taking her to a counseling center. They'll help her get better." Girard said before he turned to walk away.

"Good to hear." Shepard said as he turned to his squad and saw them all looking at him with strange looks.

"What?" Shepard asked. This time none of them said anything until Liara spoke up.

"You are amazing." she said with everyone nodding in agreement at him before leaving towards the Normandy. Shepard looked at them as he left. He then noticed the crate of stuff that he bought, along with Chun's supplies, were being loaded onto the Normandy. Shepard then cracked a smile before going onto the Normandy.

(Listen everyone, first of all sorry this is shorter than normal. Between the hours at work along with other things, my writing time has been drained drastically. I'm still going to keep writing, just the updates are going to take longer than usual. You can't get rid of me that easily. Anyway sorry for not updating normally, get used to it. Be sure to tell me what you think of the story so far! Please read and Review. Happy Reading!)


	14. Cold Shepard, Dangerous Thresher Maw

Recap: "You are amazing." she said with everyone nodding in agreement at him before leaving towards the Normandy. Shepard looked at them as he left. He then noticed the crate of stuff that he bought, along with Chun's supplies, were being loaded onto the Normandy. Shepard then cracked a smile before going onto the Normandy.

Now

Shepard had finally entered the Normandy after staying on the Citadel for a few hours. He finally had some things he could do. He then made his way to Joker and told him to make a u-turn to the Artemis Tau Cluster.

"What? We just came from there." Joker said whining a little. Shepard rose an eyebrow at Joker's reaction.

"We didn't have anything else to do there before and besides, we needed to make a pit-stop to refuel and buy some more gear for Liara." Shepard reasoned.

"Yea, but that doesn't explain why we are heading right back to where we picked her up." Joker retorted. Shepard looked around to see if anyone was listening in. Seeing no one, he leaned down to Joker's level.

"Listen we're going back there for three reasons. 1) We need to test Liara's skills. 2) I found there are some slavers in the system and you know me. Finally 3)..." Shepard whispered before he paused wondering if he should tell Joker about the missing recon team.

"Yes?" Joker asked, noticing that Shepard seemed reluctant. Shepard decided it was okay.

"Admiral Kahoku lost contact with one his recon teams in the cluster. He can't get in, but we can." Shepard whispered, letting Joker connect the dots. Joker nodded silently, all argument gone from him, thinking it could lead to rescue mission. Shepard nodded and told Joker the coordinates that Nassana Dantius gave him thinking the slavers might be the cause or could lead him the team. Shepard then walked towards his cabin as the preparations for takeoff began. When he entered his cabin, he locked the door so no one could get in. He needed some privacy now. Before he could do anything else, he felt the need to scan his room since it was enough time for someone to add 'something' to the Normandy. He took his omni-tool and scanned the room. He found another bug, but unlike the other 2 from the shadow broker and the unknown organization, this one was clearly made from the Alliance and didn't have a self-destruct mechanism in place. He quickly analyzed it trying to figure out how long it was in his cabin. He noticed it was relatively new from the lack of marks on it and polish most new machinery had. He also noticed it didn't have even a little dust. That meant it was only on the ship for a few hours at most, but who...

'Mikhailovich.' Shepard mentally growled realizing who did it. The bastard had used the inspection for a chance to dig into Shepard recent activities. Shepard quickly disabled it and went to repurposing it for himself. He then put it in a different spot where it could see most of what went on. The only place it couldn't get was the bed and the terminal beside it. Shepard planned to use it just in case someone tried sneak in again. On a hunch he had Isaac look through the computer to see if anyone tried to access it while he was out. Apparently Mik was a wannabe hacker too. Fortunately Shepard had the good sense to upgrade the current security as well as install multiple failsafes and firewalls that would take a master thief a good fifteen minutes to crack, that was saying a lot. Shepard didn't save personal files on this terminal, but to a personal OSD. He wouldn't use Isaac as one because he felt as if he using as Isaac as a tool and not treating him as a friend even though Isaac saw and remembered everything on the OSD. Unlike most other OSD's which a plugged in or wirelessly download/upload via omni-tool, Shepard's OSD has a holographic interface that allows Shepard to choose what terminal to use as long as he has access. Normally he would use his omni-tool, but with the presence of Isaac taking up most of the space in both, he decided to use the terminal. (If any of you have seen the amazing spider-man 2, think of the file drive Norman Osborn gave Harry.)

Shepard had a great many things stored on it. He had at first used it as record of the things he took from the slavers: What he sold, kept and used to create. Then he began to add journal entries, credit accounts under false names he and Isaac came up with which included records as well as people of different races. He also had Isaac's record. It didn't say AI, but Isaac Clarke, human, mysterious owner of several businesses that the false identities worked for which were held by him. Over the 5 years between the events of Torfan and Eden Prime, Shepard had managed to get his and Isaac's fingers into several small businesses. That's not all, Shepard had inherited his mother's love for science and combined with his genetically tailored intelligence and high learning capability, he invented various things such as a suit of armor and a compact heavy mech as well as a new energy source he liked to call an arc reactor. Sadly he just has the schematics down on his OSD, not the actual thing. Shepard and Isaac were both in the process of gathering resources for them as well. Shepard and Isaac had taken a laser drill from the slavers, not unlike the one they used on Therum. So Shepard and Isaac looked for a planet out in the relatively far reaches of the Terminus and found one out in the Minos Wasteland, Pietas. They were constructing a secret underground mining facility and factory for making some of Shepard's ideas with the use of mechs they scrounged up over the years. While the planet was used by pirates to lay low, it provided Shepard an opportunity to have more mechs, credits and ships, as well as other components to use or sell. In compensation for all the mechs since Isaac had his limits, Shepard and Isaac created special VI's for different mechs for different jobs that Isaac could regulate. Most of the mechs would do construction. This included making the facility, digging and taking apart the pirate ships to build things with. Other mechs were upgraded with combat VI's trained to use rifles and pistols. They were also armored a little better as well as shielded to take on anyone unfortunate to come to the site. He made sure that innocent civilians would not come around the planet by spreading rumors of some pirate guild being in the system. While some military crafts would come in, the VI operated mechs would take some pirate ships and attack with hit and run tactics to scare off the military units. This had proved invaluable to the operation.

If anyone other than him and Isaac got their hands on his OSD, bad things could happen. Shepard connected his OSD to the terminal and began to look at various things. He ignored the schematics and journal files on it and went straight toward the immediate updated files. This held accounts under false identities, the companies they had, the facility itself, the inventory of resources they had and the amount of money each thing generated along with the total. With the facility under construction, with only a few weeks till completion, it would not generate any thing worthwhile yet. He then looked at the accounts and the credits they generated. Currently, the total amount that was going to be payed was going to be around 400,000 credits. Combined with spectre job with the amount being payed around to 60,000 credits per mission, he had a wealthy amount of income. After looking through it, he logged off it making sure to hid his OSD in his room in case someone came sniffing around and changed into his fatigues. When Shepard was finally comfortable he noticed his spare Karpov pistol. Looking at it he remembered that Liara still didn't use a weapon and from he could sense from her biotic aura, she was an adept. That usually meant that they only use pistols and light armor. It was a good thing he bought her a female version of the Colossus X armor back on the Citadel. Since Kaidan was using his other Karpov pistol, he decided to give her the other one he had. His mind made up,he walked out of his cabin, pistol in hand, over to where Liara was. He entered and noticed that she was reading something on her computer.

"Hey Liara." Shepard said getting her attention. Liara turned to him, quickly shutting off the terminal to prevent him from seeing what she was reading.

"Yes, Shepard?" Liara asked.

"While we were on the citadel, I bought you some armor. It's pretty much the best light armor I could get. I also took the liberty of adding anything on it that may assist you in a fight. If it's too small, be sure to tell me, I'm not that good at judging a person's size." Shepard informed sheepishly. It was true, when it came to judging someone's size he was bad. He remembered one time he tried to guess Lis' size to by her a dress and found out that women had a different scale then men did. When he made the guess, he showed it to her. He was close, kinda, but off about 3 sizes sooo... yea. Short answer: He sucked at choosing women's sizes and paid for it dearly by getting an unholy ass whooping from his girlfriend, coupled with no sex for a week. Well the beatdown happened, but the second punishment lasted for only half a week until she came by and had angry sex with him. Shepard quickly shook his head to get out of memory lane remembering what was going on in the present. He noticed Liara was smiling.

"Thank you Shepard. That was very thoughtful of you." Liara said. She then noticed what was in his hand. She then added, "Uh Shepard, why do you have a pistol in your hand?" Shepard then remembered the second thing he wanted to tell her.

"Oh, the pistol is for you. It's second only to spectre gear, and since you need spectre status to have access, let alone use it, I decided to give you one of my spares. Kaidan is using the other one." Shepard explained handing the pistol over to her. Liara grasped the pistol gently and firmly as she took it from his grasp. She then studied it, noticing that it had modifications that allowed more firing time and damage.

"Thank you, Shepard. You really take care of everyone don't you?" Liara said with a gentle smile.

"Well the way I see it, I'm only as good as the team I lead and I wont them to be as prepared as I can get them. Listen, earlier before we came to get you I did the same thing with everyone else. It wasn't all just armor and weapons, it included upgrades, omni-tools and bio-amps. The best I could find. If you go down there to the crate, you can pick up some other things that you think can help you out." Shepard said. Liara nodded, planning on taking his advice. Shepard then said goodbye and left for the cargo bay. Once again he came into the elevator from hell, and nearly lost his sanity to it. As he finally entered the cargo bay he noticed Garrus and Ashley checking the newly arrived crate, which just happened to be from Chun.

"Hey! Get away from that!" Shepard yelled to them as he jogged over. The both jumped at his yell and looked over at him.

"What Shepard, is it a bomb or something?" Garrus asked a little wary of the crate now since Shepard had to yell at them to get away. Ashley on the other had was now more curious about it.

"Yea Shepard, what don'y you want us seeing?" She said thinking he might have ordered something embarrassing. Shepard saw their expressions and started to connect the dots.

"Look, I met an old contact of mine from Omega on the Citadel and asked him to delivery some stuff for me to the Normandy." Shepard explained to them. Garrus and Ashley's expressions turned serious as they stared at the crate. Unlike most other crates which were iron like boxes, this crate was a pitch black with a somewhat complex lock on it.

"You contacted a criminal on the Citadel and didn't alert c-sec?" Garrus asked in an even tone as he looked at Shepard.

"Trust me, I saved c-sec by not reporting him." Shepard retorted. Garrus looked at him skeptically.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The contact was a very dangerous crimelord from Omega. And he's pretty much madness incarnate." Shepard said.

"And your saying you saved c-sec by not reporting this dangerous guy because..." Garrus said waiting for Shepard to spill.

"Because if I had, chances are the guy would have blown up c-sec HQ, fucked up all traffic on the Citadel and caused all other kinds of hell." Shepard said making Garrus freeze at how serious he sounded. The way Shepard explained the guy, he really did sound like he was madness incarnate.

"Why didn't you just shoot him then?" Garrus asked thinking someone that dangerous should be dead if they can't be locked up. Shepard looked at him incredulously.

"Because as long as someone doesn't overly piss him off, he's good. I've known the guy for years, trust me as long as someone doesn't cross him too badly the Citadel will be fine." Shepard said.

Meanwhile back on the Citadel

Chun was having a nice drink and enjoying the view in Chora's Den after successfully purchasing the rights to it. He was having a good time thinking he could bring his trade to the Citadel, when he sneezed suddenly. On the outside, he looked fine and happy. On the inside however...

'WHAT THE FUCK DID I SNEEZE FOR!? THERE MUST BE SOMEONE TALKING ABOUT ME! WHEN I FIND OUT WHO-" was about as far as he got when two voluptuous asari started 'dancing' on his table together. For a second his mind shut down, then it rebooted completely forgetting his inner raging seconds ago.

'WHOO! BABY YEA! CHUN LIKE, CHUN LIKE VERY MUCH!' Chun thought happily as he made it rain credits for the 2 lovely ladies. And so the Citadel was saved from the wrath of Hurricane Chun by 2 asari strippers.

Back on the Normandy

Shepard shivered for some reason, but it vanished as fast it came. That was when Ashley started talking.

"Okay, but why did you tell us to stay away from the crate then?" Ashley asked.

"Because knowing my contact he probably added a prank or something, knowing him it could be anything from a little kid popper to a severed head." Shepard said making Ashley and Garrus take a few more steps back from the crate in fear. Shepard approached the crate and began to hack locking mechanism. It was password protected. Knowing Chun, Shepard had a good guess of what it was. He typed in ILOVEREDSAND. It was Chun's favorite drug after all. The crate's lock clicked in recognition. Shepard couldn't help but snort and shake his head at it as he opened the crate. He saw everything he wanted, and noticed some type of... grenade! Shepard quickly jumped back thinking it was active. Ashley and Garrus were now hiding behind the mako thinking something would go off. Shepard waited a few minutes thinking it was a delayed explosion. He then slowly crept toward the crate and looked at the grenade. After seeing it, he noticed it wasn't armed and picked it up. He then inspected it's contents and couldn't help but wear an astonished expression.

"That's a huge bitch." Shepard said making Ashley and Garrus look at him like he was crazy. They both walked over to see what he was looking at. What they saw made Garrus want to arrest the guy right at that moment. Inside the grenade was a kilo of pure red sand. Chun probably meant it as a going away present.

"A bag of red sand?" Ashley asked in astonishment.

"It is his favorite drug." Shepard said snickering a little at Chun's little prank. Garrus and Ashley didn't look amused at all. They all then looked at what was in the crate. Inside were a bunch of panels, hoses, circuits, wires, a glass tube big enough to encase a person, and several other things.

"Shepard what is all this?" Garrus asked.

"This? This is what I'm going to use in making a cryotube on this ship." Shepard stated already piecing the things in his mind. The other 2 looked at him.

"Uh Shepard, you do know that we have cryopods on the crew deck right?" Ashley asked, thinking Shepard might have lost his mind.

"Yes, but those are for sleeping, this however is going to be used for transporting prisoners, in case we ever get one dangerous enough that needs to be taken back and not killed." Shepard explained as he began to use his biotics to lift everything out of the crate and towards a corner of the cargo bay, away from the doors. As he sat on the ground and began to assemble it he noticed Tali come out of the engine room. She seemed to be walking towards him, no in his direction but not toward him or anyone for that matter, he kept assembling his cryotube until she walked past him.

"Hey Tali." Shepard greeted without looking up, focused on what he was piecing together. Tali stopped at the sound of his voice and turned to him.

"Oh hey Shepard." Tali said in melancholy tone. The tone of her voice made Shepard look up at her. At this distance he could see that she looked a little saddened.

"You alright?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know. Your ship is amazing, and your crew has been really great to me especially your chief engineer, but I just sort of feel out of place. The Normandy runs so smooth, it feels like we're not even moving and the engines are so quiet, how do you sleep at night?" She told. Shepard looked at her confused.

"The silence keeps you up?" Shepard asked. Tali nodded.

"Back on the Flotilla, the last thing you want to hear silence. It usually means an engines died or an air philter has shut down. I guess you don't have to worry about that here, but old habits die hard. It's more than just the silence though, this ship feels so empty, it's like half the crew is missing. Back home, I couldn't wait to go on my Pilgrimage, to get away from the crowds. Now that I'm out here, I miss them." Tali explained. Shepard nodded in understanding. He felt the same way after he left Mindoir.

"Your homesick. Sometimes we don't appreciate what we have until it's gone." Shepard replied. Tali looked at him understanding.

"That's true. I'm starting to wonder if that's what the pilgrimage is really about. It's given me a whole new perspective on my people and our culture." Tali said.

"There you go. That way of thinking shows that you are maturing into a fine young woman, Tali." Shepard said as he turned his head back towards the components. He failed to see Tali's blush at the word fine.

"*giggles* You know, there's always a few who go on their pilgrimage and never return. I always assumed something bad happened to them, but maybe they just wanted a different life." Tali said. Shepard turned his attention back to her now.

"You do plan to return to the Migrant Fleet, right?" Shepard asked.

"I could never abandon my people, Shepard. I will go back eventually, but we have to stop Saren first. Otherwise, I might not have a home to go back to." Tali said Shepard nodded at her answer knowing she was going to be just fine when she goes home. He then turned back to his components and resumed assembling the cryotube. Tali watched for a minute noticing how his hands moved. Unlike other engineers, Shepard's hands moved gently and firmly with each piece that was in his hand. She then noticed that he used his biotics to hold things in the air or to place something together. Finally she noticed what he was working on.

"Shepard, what exactly are you working on?" Tali asked not knowing what he was making. Shepard didn't stop piecing things together.

"Making a cryotube, in case we have to transport a dangerous criminal or something. Plus I need something to keep me busy for next hour or so." Shepard said. Tali wanted to ask if she could help him, but became nervous about it and started wringing her fingers together when she got nervous. Shepard noticed her silence and looked at her, seeing her state.

"Want help?" Shepard asked as he turned back to things.

"Um yes." Tali said.

"Well, get on that side and start making the touchscreen interface and the connecting wires." Shepard said as he pointed over to the other side. Tali went and quickly sat down, ready to start tinkering. They continued on for the rest of the hour without anymore talking, enjoying each other's company as they worked together to make the cryotube. Everyone in the cargo bay noticed and watched as the 2 assembled their creation at a very fast, but perfect pace. When Liara came down to get her gear she noticed the 2 immediately and began watching as she got her gear ready. Then Kaidan came down wondering where everyone was and saw Shepard and Tali and joined everyone else.

"Is any one else reminded of 2 kids playing in the sand box?" Kaidan asked out loud. Ashley was the only who responded positive since the others didn't really have sandboxes growing up. Well Wrex did, but Tunchanka was a desert, so it didn't count. By the time they arrived in the Artemis Tau Cluster, the cryotube was 48% complete.

"Wow, I did not think we would have gotten so much of it done." Shepard said. He then turned toward Tali.

"Thanks Tali, you helped a lot. You think afterwards you can help me finish it? When you got time of course." Shepard said.

"Sure." Tali chirped, having enjoyed herself. They both then went to where they could put on their gear. A few minutes later the entire gang minus Liara was in the cargo bay.

"What could be taking T'soni so long?" Ashley said aloud. Everyone else couldn't help but nod. Shepard was about to speak when he heard the elevator doors open. He along with everyone else turned and saw Liara. What everyone but Shepard noticed was that her Colossus armor looked a little tight.

"So hows the armor, is it good?" Shepard asked making everyone look at him. Liara blushed a little seeing how dense he was being.

"The armor is fine except it is... well..." She tried to say it.

"What is it, tight?" Shepard asked.

"Yes." She responded. Shepard then got a better look at her figure and noticed she was telling the truth, it was tight on her. The more primal part of himself was admiring her curves and assets while the more in control side was rebuking himself.

"Sorry Liara, I didn't mean for it to be like that." Shepard said sincerely. While his more primal self was going 'you know you wanted it.' He honestly didn't want to cause anyone any discomfort. Subtly, Ashley and Tali were looking at the scene in envy. They could tell Liara kind of liked Shepard seeing it and deep down they too wanted to be in her position, not they'd admit it... yet. Shepard then decided it was time for everyone to get into the mako.

"Okay come on! Everyone in!" Shepard said as he opened the door. Everyone filed in except Kaidan who was distracted by the 'view'. Shepard looked to where Kaidan was looking and blushed a little. Kaidan sights were on not only Liara's form, but also Tali and Ashley's too. Shepard could admit that they looked great, but Kaidan should have more control than that. After everyone else was in, Shepard walked over and slapped Kaidan in the back of the head.

"OWW! What was that for?!" Kaidan asked as he held where Shepard had hit him. Shepard pointed to the mako.

"Because you were staring, dumbass." Shepard said. Kaidan had the nerve to look embarrassed as he quickly got in followed by Shepard. Shepard then signaled Joker that they were all ready. The bay doors opened and Shepard gunned the gas and the Mako flew out.

After the drop

The mako had safely dropped onto Sharjila in Macedon System. Inside the mako had been a little more exciting during the drop though since it was Liara's first drop. On the way down she had somehow managed to bypass everyone and hang on to Shepard while screaming her head off. She held on for dear life, but since she was holding onto Shepard from behind, she was basically strangling him. In fact it was far worse than what Tali had done to Kaidan on her first time. Garrus saw and laughed all the way down. Wrex was asleep again. Tali was hissing in anger at Liara's stunt. Kaidan was watching the show and got a good look at Liara's rear. Ashley was mad at Liara and noticed Kaidan's stare and slapped him. Shepard was desperately trying to stay conscious on the fact his newest crew member had him in a good stranglehold. Finally, the mako hit the ground causing Liara to let go. The shock had woke Wrex up. He noticed a lot of groaning and looked at his teammates to see a particular scene. Shepard was purple and wheezing harshly. Liara was shaking like a leaf. Tali was shaking in anger, and from what he knew of quarian facial expressions, she was pissed considering how narrow her eyes were. Garrus looked as if he was in pain from laughing so hard. Ashley looked very annoyed at Kaidan. And Kaidan looked like he was recovering from a lethal blow of some kind to the head.

"What happened?" Wrex asked.

"Liara's first combat drop. *cough**cough*" Shepard said as he continued to breathe harshly. Wrex only ahhed in understanding. It all made sense to him now.

"Sorry Shepard." Liara said in soft voice still shaking. Shepard only waved her off. A few minutes later Shepard finally got back into a calm state and started driving to the pirate stronghold coordinates. After about 30 minutes of driving, Kaidan decided to speak up.

"So Shepard this girl who broke up with you, what's she like?" Kaidan asked. Tali and Ashley listened in intently wanting to know more about the woman. This was news to Liara so she decided to listen in to.

"Why do you want to know?" Shepard asked not trusting Kaidan.

"I'm just wondering what kind of girl it took to catch your attention considering you live on Omega." Kaidan replied.

"She was not your average Omega girl, if that's what your asking." Shepard said.

"What race was she? Human? Asari? Turian?" Kaidan asked. Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what went on in that head of his.

"Asari." Shepard said making everyone go silent for a minute. Then Wrex spoke up.

"How many times did you 2 mate?" Wrex said with no real interest. Unfortunately that question caused Shepard to slam on the brakes making Wrex hit the dashboard again.

"Dammit, why?" Wrex said getting up. He then saw everyone looking at him.

"I don't think that's any of your business." Shepard said as he began driving again.

"So I'm guessing once a month." Wrex retorted.

"No." Shepard said.

"A week?" Garrus asked getting in on the fun.

"No." Shepard said with his eye twitching.

"A year?" Kaidan teased seeing what the other guys were doing now. The girls couldn't believe what the guys were doing to poor Shepard. Teasing him like that.

"Why the hell are you asking? It's getting on my nerves" Shepard said gritting his teeth.

"Really?" Garrus asked with a turian grin.

"Yes." Shepard said thinking he should flip the mako over to shut them up.

"And how does that make you feel?" Kaidan asked grinning.

"I fell like God is punishing me and if I'm a better person, he'll send down an angel with a chicken-pot-pie and a cupcake! NOW DON"T ASK ME AGAIN!" Shepard growled out at them. The guys were now snickering at him.

"Just tell us and we'll stop." Wrex said.

"Will you?" Shepard said with an accusing glare.

"Yes." Kaidan said.

"3 times a day." Shepard said making them all go quiet.

"Ah krogan do more than that." Wrex said. The others couldn't say anything because they were trying to figure out what kind of person can keep up that pace. Shepard then noticed that they were coming towards the stronghold.

"Hey, enough chit chat. We're here get ready." Shepard said as everyone got serious. Shepard then drove the mako into the perimeter and was immediately fired upon by snipers and rockets. Shepard quickly drove around surveying the battle ground while evading. He noticed that the snipers and rockets were on look-out towers, there were also some pirates on the ground behind barricades in front of the entrance to the stronghold.

"Wrex, get out and hit the guys in the barricades." Shepard ordered.

"Finally!" Wrex said excitedly as he got out. He made a break for it and got behind the barricades and started shooting pirates left and right. Garrus and Ashley used the guns to thin out any enemies on the ground and then turned their attention to ones in the towers. Shepard drove the mako and ran over several pirates, instantly killing them. When it was over the mako's shields were depleted to about half strength and the pirates were all dead. They all got out and began to enter the stronghold.

"That was fun Shepard. I needed to let lose." Wrex said grinning a little.

"Thought you'd like it." Shepard responded. They all walked in and came face to face with a group of pirates.

"Who are you?" The asari in the in the group demanded.

"I'm looking for Dahlia Dantius." Shepard said with a hard stare. The asari then looked at him confused.

"How do you know my name?" She asked. Shepard then looked at her more closely and noticed she did look similar to Nassana. Shepard thought it over thinking it was strange until he finally realized what was going on.

'Nassana played me huh?' Shepard thought to himself. Shepard then took out his assault rifle and gunned down 3 of the pirates making the others jump for cover. Shepard eyes scanned the room to make sure there weren't any people around as he and the others jumped for cover. Not seeing anyone, Shepard let loose using different combinations of powers along with his rifle. He would throw a singularity catching 2 pirates and followed with an incinerate attack causing it to explode, killing the ones caught in it and around it. When the drones came up, he switched to his pistol and used overload on them, shooting them down afterwards without missing a beat. His team was stunned momentarily because they hadn't seen him fight like this. They guessed it was because of the fact it was slavers and pirates. Wrex snapped out of his stupor first and jumped into the fight followed by Garrus and Ashley. Then Kaidan jumper in followed by Tali and finally Liara. Each one fired or supported the others. While Shepard did go out against all the pirates, e did mange to keep everyone in his vision and noticed Liara was pulling her weight by supporting Ashley by throwing a singularity in between 2 pirates in front of Ashley and then casting a warp on an enemy that had snuck behind Garrus and Tali. Soon enough only Dahlia was left.

"W-Wait, I can give you money. I've recently got a huge shipment of credits. It's yours if you let me live." Dahlia bartered while she sat up on the ground, having been knocked down in the fight. Shepard gave her a hard stare.

"Do you know who I am?" Shepard asked coldly. A few minutes passed by when Dahlia didn't answer and only looked at him confused.

"I'm Ghost." Shepard said in a voice that could have frozen the room. Dahlia was so scared now she couldn't speak. She had heard of Ghost, but assumed since he was out in the Terminus, he would never come into Council Space. Yet here he was, the slaver killer himself. Shepard then took his pistol and pointed it at her, right between the eyes.

"And you're dead." Shepard added before pulling the trigger, killing her. Everyone was shocked at how cold Shepard acted with her. It was as if they staring at a different person now. The only ones who weren't really surprised were Kaidan and Wrex. Kaidan because he had met Ghost over the years and had seen his attitude with slavers. Wrex because he had seen it before in his 700 years of life. That didn't mean Shepard's attitude didn't give them chills though. Shepard then moved to where the backroom was. He knew by experience that the slavers and any lose organizations kept the important stuff in the back. Shepard entered the room and then checked the terminal on the only desk inside. He hacked through it easily almost as if in a trance. He then got all of the information on the terminal, downloaded whatever credit accounts were in it and then exited. The slavers had noticed the recon team was somewhere in the Sparta System.

"Come on, we're going back to the Normandy." Shepard said in a neutral tone. The squad looked concerned for a minute before following. What they had just witnessed was the true persona of Ghost.

Later, back on the Normandy

As soon as Shepard got on, he told Joker to go to the Sparta System and start searching it's planets for any unusual signals. Shepard and his team were now in the comm room. His squad had noticed how serious Shepard had gotten as soon as they met Dahlia Dantius. Shepard had just called Nassana and waited for her to pick up. Suddenly her hologram appeared.

"Shepard, did you find my sister?" Nassana asked with supposed worry. It only pissed Shepard off more. This bitch had used his hatred against him to kill her own sister. If there was one thing he hated almost as much as slavers, it was being used and made for a fool. Aria used him for jobs of sorts, but there was no deception. Granted sometimes she would omit certain details, but they were small things like how many enemies are around or the location. This little bitch though played him.

"You can cut the charade Dantius. I know the everything." Shepard said in the voice he used on Dahlia when he told her who he was. He noticed it had the same effect, but not as much. Perhaps she was more composed than Dahlia, or maybe it's because they weren't in the same room. He then saw her worried expression turn much colder and stoic. Shepard stared into her eyes and he could now see the smugness in them. That cold steely gaze made him realize she thought he was lesser than herself.

"So you know then." She stated with an equally cold tone.

"You wanna tell me the real reason you had me go after your own sister?" Shepard asked. Nassana smirked.

"Think of it this way, you helped me get rid of a big embarrassment to me and my family. So here is a sizable sum of money, easily twice the amount I had given my sister." Nassana replied.

"No thanks, I'm afraid I might catch something from you, you trash." Shepard retorted making Nassana's face morph into a visage of fury.

"Don't you dare think your higher than that, you arrogant merc." Nassana replied ferociously.

"Please, I may kill slavers and get paid for certain jobs, but I'm no merc." Shepard snorted out. He then continued on, "Besides what's to stop me from telling people, like say the Council about your connection with Dahlia the slaver." Nassana's enraged face turned smug. While all of this was going down, the team had various reactions: Garrus and Ashley were growling at Nassana's attitude, Tali and Liara looked angry at Nassana, while Wrex and Kaidan were looking at Shepard, wondering why he was dragging this out.

"The Council will never take you seriously. Humanity is nothing more than pathetic upstarts who will eventually be brought fully under the Council's heel." When she said that, Ashley and Kaidan both were gritting there teeth in anger. Shepard could tell the rest of the crew heard it too considering he could hear Joker growling a little in his earpiece. Nassana then continued, "But since I don't want any rumors flying around about this, I'll put you on the preferred client list for a manufacturer of prototype asari mods. Just to ensure your silence." Nassana said as her omni-tool popped up and started typing. Shepard looked at his omni-tool and noticed he was on the list for Armali Council Mods.

"Now is there anything else you wanted to say, human." Nassana said with that insufferable smirk on her face. Shepard had his head down. To Nassana, he loked defeated making her smirk at how she got him. To everyone else in the room, they could see the small smirk on his face.

"Actually yes, who said all the evidence and data on you and Dahlia died with her?" Shepard asked looking back up at Nassana with a Joker (Batman) grin. Nassana's smug expression was wiped off instantly.

"What do you mean?" She demanded keeping her composure though everyone could see it slipping.

"You think I wouldn't check Dahlia's files after I killed her? Your dumber than I thought." Shepard said chuckling viciously. He then held up his omni-tool and said, "I have everything. Birth records, dates, family history, educational history, taxes, everything!" Nassana now had a horified look on her face.

"But I just payed for your silence!" She yelled back.

"And I told you to keep it." Shepard retorted grinning madly at her. Nassana looked like she was foaming at the mouth in rage.

"You misjudged me, you dumb bitch." Shepard said laughing a little.

"What is there to misjudge?! Your nothing more than a glorified human merc who got lucky enough to catch the attention of people so far above you!" Nassana insulted since she didn't have anything else she could use against him.

"I'm no merc. I'm the Ghost. Mercs take their money and go. Me, if I don't like you, I'll put a gun to your head." Shepard replied coolly to her. Nassana had a look of shock and perhaps... a little reflection? Thinking she may have made a huge mistake? Oh yeah!

"And if you ever think of trying to kill me, I have all this data tied to my life signs. So if you try to kill me, you try to manipulate me, or anything like this again, it all goes viral. Not just the corperations and the politicians, the public too. Anywhere in Council space and the Terminus, everyone will see it. You won't be able to walk in the street without someone knowing about you." Shepard said knowing he won. Nassana knew it too if her pissed off face was anything to go by. It must be so humiliating for her, to be outwitted and trapped by a 'pathetic upstart.'

"GRR YOU BAST-" She began to to yell until Shepard cut off the comm. Shepard started laughing at the whole thing. Everyone was looking at how Shepard had handled the situation. If it had been anyone of them, they would've been raging at Nassana, and probably loose to.

"Damn Shepard, you can be cold, but ingenious at the same time!" Joker said having heard it along with the crew. Shepard could actually hear some of them clapping. Everyone of the squad looked at him either smiling or smirking at how he got Nassana.

"If I never see that bitch again, I can die a happy man." Shepard said making everyone laugh. Shepard walked out of the comm room with all the crew members giving him nods of respect or a thumbs up. Pressly was just smirking and shaking his head at how Shepard acted sometimes.

"Hey Joker, tell me when you find anything strange in this system, I'll be in my quarters." Shepard said.

"Right, and nice job putting that diplomat down." Joker said.

"She messed with the wrong guy." Shepard retorted as he made his way to his quarters. He stayed there, having a nap until Joker called him an hour later

"Shepard, I'm getting a signal from the planet below us. Looks like an automated distress beacon. I think we found our guys." Joker said over the intercom. Shepard immediately headed toward the cargo bay.

"Right, get ready to drop us down." Shepard said.

"Roger that." Joker replied. A few minutes later and the whole team was packed into the mako, dropping a few miles an hour. This time though no one was freaking out. In fact they were all serious about this one considering the circumstances. Shepard drove until he came up to wide flat area. He and everyone else could see a Grizzly tank and the beacon itself.

"Does anyone else feel like this is a trap?" Shepard asked aloud not liking the look of the place.

"Yep." Wrex admitted.

"Uh huh." Kaidan grunted.

"Sure looks like one." Garrus said.

"There is something suspicious about it." Liara responded.

"It has to be." Ashley stated.

"Mhmm" Tali added in. Okay so it wasn't just him then.

"Okay people. Be ready for anything. We're going in." Shepard said as he drove slowly toward the tank. Things were going smoothly until Shepard and Wrex felt something they were both intimately familiar with, tremors. Shepard hadn't felt any since Akuze, but he still remembered them well. For Wrex it had been longer, not since his Rite of Passage, but he could still remember that glorious fight he had won when he was so much younger.

"Oh shit." was all Shepard could say with Wrex nodding in agreement. Everyone else was confused until they all saw the ground explode a few hundred feet away. What they saw that rose out of the ground was a growling, drooling thresher maw. The quickly spit acid at them forcing Shepard to hit the thrusters and making the mako jump up. He floored it and hauled ass dodging acid spit barely until he saw the maw go back underground.

'Did it leave?' Shepard thought until something happened. One minute, he was driving great. The next, the maw had shot up from under the mako, causing it to go airborne and landing after a few flips onto the tires. Everyone was very disoriented. Wrex recovered first and noticed something.

"Where's Shepard?!" He roared out. This got everyone to look at the driver's seat. They all then noticed that driver's door was ripped off.

"Oh goddess! He must have fallen out when we were sent into the air!" Liara gasped. Everyone was thinking even Shepard couldn't have survived that. Wrex quickly got in the driver's seat and noticed that the mako was badly damaged.

"Dammit! Kaidan, Garrus, Tali! Start repairing! Ashley take the cannon controls and be ready to fire, Liara take the machine gun!" He roared out taking charge knowing that the mako was their best shot at surviving.

"Uh Wrex I don't think we have enough time." Tali said frightened.

"What?!" Wrex demanded. Tali pointed to the front window. Everyone looked and saw the maw was charging at them fast. They knew it was hopeless. With Shepard dead and the mako torn up all they could do was wait. The maw closed in with only 20 feet to go when a mass accelerator round struck the maw stopping it. Everyone looked at Ashley thinking she shot. All she did was shake her head no. That was when another round hit the maw. This time they saw the direction it came from. The maw then turned to where it had been struck and saw the Grizzly's gun pointed at it. It's top door opened up and out came Shepard. Once more he challenged the thresher maw and used his old mentor's favorite phrase.

"COME GET SOME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Shepard roared as he fired another round hitting the maw squarely in the face. It roared in response and charged at Shepard's direction now.

"Hurry! He's bought some time. Start using omni-gel and repair this damn thing so we can help." Wrex said. Everyone else did what they could, but the damage was extensive.

"Wrex, I'm no sure it'll be repaired in time." Kaidan exclaimed. Wrex could only growl.

Meanwhile with Shepard and the maw

Shepard had fired the cannon continuously at the maw. He could see that had worn its armor down but not any big damage. The Grizzly's cannon then overheated. Knowing it wouldn't stop that maw anymore, Shepard dashed from the Grizzly using Adrenaline and combination of biotics to increase his speed. The Thresher Maw followed after him. He then used his assault rifle and unloaded everything he had until it overheated as he continued running. The maw was now getting close until something had caught its attention. It was Wrex who had ventured from the mako to help Shepard, along with Liara and Ashley. They were helping him distract the maw. He noticed Garrus, Tali and Kaidan weren't with them. He could sense Kaidan was alive in the mako. That meant those 3 were repairing it. They all continued to play cat and mouse until the mako was repaired. Kaidan drove and Garrus was back on the cannon as they attacked the maw. That was when Liara tripped when she was running. Ashley was by her side in a second and pulled her. Sadly the maw saw this and pounced towards them. The mako's rounds were ignored by the giant worm as it charged with it's jaws wide open. Wrex couldn't do anything except watch in morbid horror along with everyone else. For Shepard time seemed to slow down. As the maw closed in on 2 of his squad he could hear his heartbeat. He suddenly saw the people he couldn't protect in his life: his mother, Talitha, the innocent civilians on Elysium, the squad on Akuze, Major Kyle's squad on Torfan and the most of the colonists on Eden Prime. Then he heard a voice shout NO. The next thing that happened was incredible. Shepard was covered in a bright blue biotic aura, his eyes glowing with light making them look like to orbs of pure light. Then in a bright flash, Shepard had somehow moved from his position to the space in between the Maw and Liara and Ashley. Everyone was in shock at the speed and more put into more shock at what Shepard did next.

"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THEM!" Shepard roared and stuck his hands out and a Power Strike was made in both hands. This one was different. For one it was huge in comparison to a normal one. While a normal one was the size of a soccer ball, this one was the size of a fitness ball. The other difference is that Shepard created it almost instantly. Then Shepard did something he hadn't done before with a power strike. He shot it at the maw's mouth. From what everyone had seen, Shepard couldn't shoot a power strike. Liara was awestruck at it. What else could be done with it? Then everyone saw the damage it could cause and it terrified them.

The Super Power Strike hit the thresher maw right into its gullet. The explosion was incredibly powerful, but it did not cause the maw's head to explode, though everyone was kinda wishing it did instead of what happened. Instead obliterating its head, the attack had split the maw's mouth in different areas and burned it badly. Instead of an outright kill, it was a slow painful death for the thresher maw as it collapsed and moaned in pain. A few moments later, it died from the new devastating biotic attack of John Shepard.

Shepard's aura went off then along with the light in his eyes. He couldn't believe what he had just done to the thresher maw. Everyone was coming toward him now with questions. Unfortunately as soon as the aura went out, Shepard felt crippling pain in both of his arms.

"AAAAHHHH!" Shepard cried out, which echoed all around. The pain felt like a million needles lit on fire and having electricity surge through them embedded into his arms. Shepard could feel his muscles cramping in on themselves, almost tearing. The pain became to much and Shepard was brought to his knees. Shepard continued to shriek in pain as his team now ran to him to see what was wrong.

"Shepard what's wrong?!" Liara asked as she checked him over, but Shepard's jerking around made it difficult. Ashley tried to hold him down but she almost got hit response as Shepard writhed in pain. Kaidan tried his best to see what was wrong, but couldn't see anything.

"We need to get him to Chakwas." Kaidan said.

"I'm on it. Joker we need immediate evac and medical support. Shepard is down! I repeat, Shepard is down!" Garrus said as he radioed in the Normandy. Tali felt so helpless as she could only watch Shepard writhe in agony and listen to his tortured screams.

"I'm going to knock him out." Wrex said as he got ready. Everyone was trying to stop him until they heard Shepard speak.

"D-D-D-Do it. OHH Dear God! DO IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" Was all he could say until he started screaming again. Wrex quickly moved up and knocked him out with a headbutt. Everyone was now worried as they watched Shepard still have a look of pure agony on his face.

* * *

Le gasp! What happened to Shepard? Find in the next Chapter of Mass Effect: Ghost of the Terminus.

For the guest who asked if Lis is an Ardat Yakshi; No she is not, she's Aria T'loak's daughter.

Read and Review please. I can't wait to see what happens next!


	15. Feros part 1

Recap: "D-D-D-Do it. OHH Dear God! DO IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" Was all he could say until he started screaming again. Wrex quickly moved up and knocked him out with a headbutt. Everyone was now worried as they watched Shepard still have a look of pure agony on his unconscious face.

Now

Agony. Agony was the only word he could use and yet it still didn't fully describe it. Only point in the right direction of the feeling. Shepard knew he wasn't conscious. Not after the hit Wrex gave him. Even unconscious, the pain didn't stop, only eased up a little. Shepard then found himself back in his inner world, the forest on his back. He looked around and noticed something was different. Before when he was here last time, the night sky was just full of stars. Now though it had a blue crescent moon. He then noticed the difference here and home was that on Mindoir, they had 3 moons. Then he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly turned around to his mother once again.

"Mom? What the hell happened?" John asked as he got up. Hannah stared at him for moment before she answered.

"You and your friends faced a thresher maw and the 2 women, the human and asari, were almost killed. In response to your desperation to save them, your true power awoke for a brief moment." Hannah told. John looked at her strangely.

"My true power?" John asked. Hannah nodded very seriously.

"Yes. That structure that surrounds your DNA is the cause of it. Did you ever wonder the cause of it? All that power?" Hannah asked. John knew he didn't have to answer.

"All those times. Akuze, Torfan, the spar with your krogan friend. Each of those times you were under great emotional distress. This time however, was different." Hannah continued on.

"What do you mean different. Do you mean the power output?" John asked. Hannah looked as if she was considering her answer before speaking.

"Partially, but the main reason of why it's different is why it happened." Hannah explained. John raised an eyebrow at her answer. Hannah decided to elaborate seeing his questioning look.

"All the other times before this one was about you more or less. Whether it was your life, your goals, or your pride; it was about you personally. This time however, people you genuinely cared about were in danger." Hannah said making John start to realize it.

"But why more for others and not myself? You'd think self-preservation would take priority in this case." John said. Hannah looked at him with a stoic expression. From what he remembered of her, that usually meant she was a little disappointed that he didn't see something. Before he could say anything else he saw her smile a little.

"I'm a little surprised that you don't realize it. It is because of your heart, my son. The one thing I couldn't change, even if I wanted to. Your heart was always compassionate and good. Even as a baby you you always had kindness in your eyes. Your heart is what allowed you to stay as a person and not a monster who would not let anything get in his way. When it is people you know, you form a bond with them. You come to care about them, and when you see them in danger, you become under even greater emotional stress." Hannah explained smiling at his surprised expression. She was right. When he lost everything on Mindoir, he had a huge loathing for aliens thinking that they were all responsible for what happened to his home. It all changed as he traveled and trained with Zaeed. As the years went by, he visited many worlds with Zaeed to learn what was what. In doing so he learned the history of humanity, krogan, asari, turians, batarians and other species as well as the organizations that came from them. After seeing the various tragedies that all of them shared, he his hatred had lessened. When he found out that other non-human colonies were attacked by slavers, some even coming from the colonies own races, his hatred lessened and focused toward slavers in general.

"What's with the moon? Why is there only one?" John asked. Hannah looked at it for moment before answering.

"The each moon represents your true power. Currently you only managed to tap into a small part of your first level." She said.

"Then, when it becomes full, I will have completely unlocked my first level?" John said trying to figure it. Hannah smirked a little at his question.

"No, when tap into all of it, it will be a waxing gibbous. When you have full control over it, only then will it be a full moon." Hannah explained. John ahhed in understanding. It made sense, a little. Then he thought of something.

"Will I have to train to bring it out? Or will it come out on it's own?" John asked.

"It will only move forward when you tap into more and more when your emotions are pushed to extreme heights." Hannah answered.

"Why did it cause me to be in so much pain?" John asked remembering the agony he felt after killing the thresher maw.

"It is because your body wasn't ready for the strain. You briefly tapped into your first level fully for a few seconds. In that time it caused your arms' biotic nodes to go into a sort of overdrive, bringing out incredible power, but also bringing an incredible strain on your nodes as well as your arm muscles . Luckily with your genetic tailoring I had grafted into you, your body should adapt to the trauma and not be feeling that amount of pain from it anymore." Hannah explained. John was about to ask something else when the world started to fade again once more.

"It would appear that our discussion is over. Goodbye John. Promise me you want put yourself into a stressful situation like that again." Hannah said, causing John to look afraid before nodding his head fast. Hannah smiled at him. It was the last thing he saw before his vision faded to black.

Back on the Normandy, at the same time.

Shepard's squad had turned off the beacon and got him onto the Normandy as fast as they could. Even unconscious, Shepard looked to be in a lot of pain to them. As soon as they had brought him on to the Normandy, they quickly made way to the med bay. When Chakwas saw the state Shepard was in, she immediately told them put Shepard down and then ushered them all out. She then began scanning him to see what was wrong. After starting by examining his lower torso, she moved up until she got to his arms.

'His nodes have changed! There stronger now, at least a little. But they've been strained severely. The strain then caused them to actually pull his arm's muscles closer to them! What could have caused this?' Chakwas thought trying to figure out what happened. She then injected a muscle relaxer and a sedative to calm him down. For the next few minutes she watched as Shepard regained consciousness. He tiredly looked around the room until he saw Chakwas.

"How long have I been out?" He asked, voice very weak.

"An hour at most." Chakwas responded.

"Hmph at least I'm ok." Shepard said.

"How are you feeling?" Chakwas asked.

"Exhausted. A little thirsty. Maybe... high too." Shepard said looking as if he was trying to figure out how the last one happened.

"That last part is the muscle relaxer and sedative I gave you to keep you calm. Medi-gel won't help with something like that. Only time, and your fast healing, will." Chakwas said getting a little worried now. Shepard wasn't making any snide remarks about her or her room. 'It must be more serious than I thought.' She thought.

"You got any water in here?" Shepard asked dryly.

"Sure, here." Chakwas handed Shepard a cup of water from the water dispenser in the med bay.

"Thanks." Shepard greedily downed the cup in loud gulps. After a few more cups Chakwas continued.

"Shepard what caused this to happen?" She asked in a low voice.

"Check my DNA." Shepard stated, sticking his arm out. Chakwas looked at him in shock for a minute before she took a needle and extracted some of his blood. She then looked into the microscope and checked it out. Her eyes widened a little at the site. The visual she was seeing was of Shepard's DNA and the structure that surrounded it was glowing a light blue light. Similar to one biotic nodes in the body when they are active.

"What does it mean?" She asked turning to Shepard.

"I think it means... I'm changing. Or mutating." Shepard said.

"I'm might need to keep you in observation for a few days." Chakwas said thinking that this could hurt Shepard again since it did put him in her med bay. Shepard just shook his head.

"I get the feeling we don't have that kind of time." Shepard said getting up. He noticed his healing had already taken care of most of the damage. Taking the time to check out is body's condition, he noticed that he felt a little stronger and lighter. To himself at least. He then thanked Chakwas and exited the med bay where he met up with his team.

"Shepard are you okay?" Ashley asked noticing him first. Her question caught the attention of the other squad members, making them turn in his direction.

"I'm fine Ash. Just a little exhausted... and hungry to." Shepard said as he kept walking towards the kitchen, hoping to find something to sate his hunger.

"What happened out there Shepard?" Kaidan asked.

"Yes, I've never seen anything like that." Tali added in. Shepard continued to search for something until he found a banana, some peanut butter, and a loaf of bread.

"My full power surfaced for a minute." Shepard responded as he walked over to the table and began making a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

"How? I've only seen asari matriarchs move as fast. Even then there are only a few who did it and it took them years to do so. Afterwards, they were completely exhausted after one flash. You on the other hand had a lot more power." Liara said wanting to know how Shepard was able to do that stuff.

"Hmph. I haven't seen anything like it until now. That form you took was something I had only seen asari go into during meditation, but their powers didn't skyrocket like your's did nor was their biotic aura so intense. What makes you so special?" Wrex followed up. Shepard took a bite out of his sandwich and looked at Wrex confused as he chewed his food. He took on a form? Granted his vision became engulfed in biotic energy and he felt incredibly stronger, but that was all he noticed. He then swallowed as he spoke.

"Form?" Shepard asked. Wrex nodded.

"Yea. You were covered in an intense biotic aura and your eyes were glowing with a bright light. Couldn't even see your pupils." He explained. Shepard was shocked at that. He started thinking it over when he heard Garrus speak.

"What I want to know is how you did it and how did it increase your biotics to such an incredible level." Garrus said.

"Liara, are you sure there aren't any matriarchs who could do what I did?" Shepard asked, looking at her.

Liara spoke while shaking her head, "No, we didn't think of that power strike of yours. We never mentioned anything like a full biotic overdrive." Then Tali spoke up.

"Maybe humans have hidden biotic potential?" She offered up. Kaidan shook his head.

"No, if there were there would be at least one more biotic who could do what he does." Kaidan said. Shepard then spoke up.

"It's because of my DNA." Shepard said gaining their attention once more.

"Your DNA?" Garrus asked with a brow raised. Shepard looked down.

"I'm not what you would call a natural human." He said puzzling all of them. He looked up, seeing their confused faces. He elaborated.

"I'm a test tube baby. A genetically modified test tube baby. My mother created me using science and a lab." Shepard said. His explanation caused all of them to go into shock. He was genetically modified?

"That explains a lot, now that you mention it." Kaidan said after a minute. Everyone looked at Kaidan, wondering what he meant.

"What are you talking about Alenko?" Garrus asked.

"What I mean is that Shepard has always recovered from some serious injuries. I remember when I saw Shepard on Torfan. After fighting with that justicar, he looked like he was about to pass out." Kaidan said.

"Was not." Shepard said biting into his sandwich again.

"You didn't see yourself." Kaidan retorted.

"I wasn't that bad." Shepard said.

"Really? It looked like you took an epic beating." Kaidan said smirking. Shepard just shook his head no as he continued to eat.

"You were limping to your ship at the end of it." Kaidan said chuckling with Shepard.

"Yea, that was a pretty tough fight." Shepard said as he continued eating. He finally finished his sandwich as he turned to everyone.

"So your genetically modified?" Tali asked.

"Yep. To be more smarter than a salarian, have more biotic power than a asari matriarch and heal on par as well as outfight a krogan." Shepard said.

"I can attest to those last 2." Wrex said.

"What I'm not smart enough?" Shepard asked smirking.

"I haven't seen you do anything to merit it." Wrex responded jokingly.

"Look at that cryotube down below and you try to figure it out then." Shepard challenged. Wrex put his hands up.

"That is one challenge I won't do." Wrex said making everyone chuckle. That was when Joker called up.

"Hey is Shepard up yet?" Joker asked over the intercom.

"I'm right here Joker, what's up?" Shepard asked.

"Good to know your awake. I've got Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina on the comm. They say it's about your next assignment." Joker said. Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"Do they know what happened?" Shepard asked.

"Uh they know you were unconscious but other than that, no. Why? Did you want me to tell them?" Joker offered.

"No, in fact I'd rather no one else know." Shepard said as he got up. He then spoke, "Tell them I'll be on in a minute."

"Right." Joker said as Shepard made his way to the comm room. When he finally entered, he turned the comm on and both Anderson and Udina's holograms appeared.

"Shepard, we heard that you might have been unconscious. What happened?" Anderson asked.

"Just an overuse of my biotics." Shepard replied smoothly. No sense in lying or telling the whole truth.

"Well in that case then, let's get to business." Udina said.

"Yes. Joker mentioned that you have my next mission?" Shepard asked expectantly. Anderson nodded.

"Yes. We've received reports of geth sightings near one of our colonies, Feros. We have not been able to contact the colony for some time now." Anderson said.

"The colony has been out of contact for around 2 days now. This could another clue to find Saren, Shepard." Udina said.

"Yea, okay. We'll head there immediately." Shepard said. Udina quickly logged off. Anderson nodded goodbye as he logged off.

"You want us to set off for Feros immediately Shepard?" Joker asked, having heard listened in on the conversation.

"No, are we still connected to the comm buoy?" Shepard asked Joker.

"Umm yes we are." Joker responded taking a look at the status.

"Can you please connect me to Admiral Kahoku, Joker?" Shepard asked.

"Sure." Joker said already knowing what Shepard was up to. A few minutes later and Kahoku's hologram came up.

"Shepard! Any news on my team?" Kahoku asked. Shepard looked down for a second before answering.

"Admiral, I'm sorry to say this but your team is dead. They ran into a thresher maw." Shepard said. Kahoku looked stunned for a minute before he spoke again.

"A thresher maw? That's not.. My men wouldn't just stumble into a thresher nest. Not the whole unit!" Kahoku said with obvious rage. Shepard could understand the admiral's feelings on this so he decided to be patient and calm with the man.

"Someone lured them there with an Alliance distress beacon. It was set perfectly right beside the the nest." Shepard said. Kahoku looked like he was now trying to compose himself. He slammed his fist into his hand as he spoke.

"Dammit. I had a bad feeling ever since my team disappeared. An Alliance beacon used as bait. My unit wiped out. But nobody seems to know anything about it." Kahoku said before sighing. He then continued, "Ghost I appreciate what you did. Now I need to do my part, the families of those marines deserve to know why they died."

"Of course I understand. If you need my help again, just call." Shepard said as he nodded to Kahoku. The line cut off shortly after that.

"Joker, get us to Feros. We need to get there fast." Shepard ordered as he walked out towards his room.

"Roger that Shepard." Joker responded as he started punching in the coordinates. Shepard decided to change his course and instead went to the cargo bay to continue his construction of the cryotube. He worked on it for a while until Tali came to help. With her help he had finally completed the cryotube. Shepard then looked over the design and made sure it was functioning right. (If you want to know what it looks like, just look up the cryotube they had in star trek: into darkness)

"Shepard how exactly do you know it's functioning?" Tali asked as he scanned over ever inch of it. Shepard had his omni-tool over it performing all types of different scans before answering.

"Well Tali that's what I'm going to check out right now. Currently I'm scanning for any coolant leaks, loose wires, out off place components, anything that should not be where it is." Shepard said as put his omni-tool away. He then began typing on the tube's interface and activated it, opening the the tube.

"Wait Shepard, you don't mean..." Tali said before Shepard nodded his head.

"Yep. I'm going to test it out. Putting it up for ten minutes." Shepard said as a timer popped up. He then turned to Tali.

"Okay if the 10 minutes go off and it doesn't open immediately hit the emergency switch right on the interface. It's the red button. If that doesn't work, break the glass." Shepard said just before he got in. The tube having built in motion and heat sensors, closed upon sensing someone entering. Everyone was now watching. Liara and Kaidan had come just in time only to see Shepard get in. Ashley, Wrex and Garrus had been watching the whole time silently. Everyone was about to say something when the tube closed on Shepard and they saw the inside freeze, frost immediately covering the glass. Everyone waited with bated breathe as the minutes rolled by. Eventually the time ran out and they waited for a few seconds.

"Is it going to open?" Ashley asked getting worried.

"I don't know." Garrus said. Tali looked like she was going to sprint towards the cryotube until everyone heard a loud click. The tube opened up and a second later Shepard flew out.

"Ahhhh, ooooohhhhhh." Shepard moaned out as he rubbed his arms for warmth, shaking uncontrollably. Everyone watched stunned at how Shepard was acting.

"Is it that bad?" Liara asked.

"Y-Y-Y-Yeah." Shepard said, teeth chattering.

"Did you sleep?" Wrex asked.

"L-L-L-L-Like a-a b-b-baby." Shepard chattered out. The cryotube worked, the only side-effect being that the subject will feel the effects of the subzero temperatures. In other words: Fucking Cold!

After an hour of recuperation, and about ten bowls of steaming hot soup, Shepard was back to normal. During that time, the Normandy was now closing in on Feros. Everyone got their gear ready, thinking all they were going to find was geth. When they walked out of the Normandy, they saw someone waving at them. They cautiously approached the man even though he wasn't threatening them. For some reason something about the man was giving Shepard an off feeling. Like there was something behind the guy. It wasn't like how he could sense biotics or electricity that's for sure.

"We saw your ship coming in. Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately." The man said.

"Who's Fai Dan?" Shepard asked wanting to know about the guy.

"He's our leader. He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They're making another push. Please, up the stairs and pass the freighter." The man said. Shepard then sensed something coming their way, something with electricity.

"Get down!" Shepard shouted as he tackled the guy to the ground. They both were narrowly missed by a rocket hurdling over them and passed them. His squad took cover immediately and began firing. Ash and Wrex were in the front shooting every geth with their respective assault rifle/shotgun. Wrex even used warp on a few to weaken their shields. Tali supported Ash by using overload on a few in front of her, helping her take them down faster. Tali then used AI hacking on the geth in the back which then took out three other geth before being shot by reinforcements coming from the stairwell. Kaidan quickly put a barrier on himself and began shooting, taking out 2 geth hoppers before his barrier weakened to much forcing him to take cover again. Garrus provided long range assistance by sniping several troopers on the walk way that had looked up from their cover. Liara joined in by using a singularity on the remaining geth, causing everyone to fire at the floating enemies. While all of this was going on Shepard and the man had rolled to the side. Unfortunately while the rocket had missed them, one of the geth's rounds had hit the man in the shoulder scoring the subclavian artery. The man could not move his arm and was losing a lot of blood. The round had also went completely through the man's shoulder. Shepard used medi-gel, but for some reason it wasn't working as fast as it should be.

"I'm not letting you die." Shepard said as he put pressure on the wound. The man had broken into a cold sweat as he watched Shepard try to save his life. He then gently used his good hand to take Shepard's hand off the wound.

"It's fine. Go help your people... and... go... save... mine." The man said with a dying breathe. Shepard watched as the life slowly ebbed away from the man's eyes. He took his hand and gently shut the man's eyes. Remorse and guilt coursed through him like a torrent of water. Then anger surfaced. Shepard took out his HMWA, got up and did a continuous spray-and-pray sweep, finishing all the other geth in sight. Without speaking, he made his way toward the stairwell. Everyone saw this and noticed the man's body. Without saying a word they followed, knowing Shepard did not want to talk right now. As Shepard made his way up, he was attacked by 2 more geth hoppers. Without even batting an eye, he used a combination of warp and overload on them. He then took his shotgun out and quickly shot them down without stopping. Everyone was starting to get worried about Shepard. They hadn't really seen him this quiet and this deadly. It was like looking at a machine right now. That was when Kaidan realized what was going on.

'For him, it's probably like watching Mindoir all over again. He must feel connected or responsible for this in some way.' Kaidan mentally surmised. Looking over at Wrex he could see that the krogan had come to the same conclusion. Kaidan knew Wrex was smarter than others gave him credit for. Shepard didn't need to tell him that. They reached the top of the stairs and came up too a couple of colonists who were guarding the passage.

"Oh man, we thought you were geth! Hurry go speak to Fai Dan. Just go through the freighter and take a left once you exit on the other side. You'll see him." One of the group said. Shepard nodded and walked where they had pointed him towards when he looked around. He noticed his squad did the same, probably looking for various points to come across. That was when Shepard noticed something strange. The same feeling he had when he met the man in the dock had come back tenfold. This feeling though was different compared to him sensing biotic and electricity. If he had to compare the feeling of biotic and electricity, it would be with wind and static respectively. Depending on a person's ability with biotics it would be similar to the strength of wind being blown. It had no real temperature, but his body did simulate one. With Liara he would compare her aura with that of strong but gentle very cool wind. With Wrex and Kaidan it was more like a mild gust of mildly cool wind considering their not as strong with their biotics. With geth and by extension Tali, given her suit's cybernetics, it would be a more static feeling given the electricity. From a geth juggernaut to a dropship, he would compare it to a very strong static feeling that was all over him. With Tali and smaller geth, it would be a more easier static feel like you know it's there but as long as you don't pay much attention, you don't notice it. Now though there was this new feeling as if there was this heavy mist in the air and it got thicker around the people. When he had gotten to the middle of the freighter, the feeling intensified again. Whatever was causing it had to be under him right now, but he would get to it later. People needed his help now. He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard his friends talking.

"Damn, these people had it rough." Garrus said having looked around a little.

"Gotta agree with you there Garrus." Ash said, nodding her head.

"They've done well for civilians considering the firepower they've been facing." Wrex said.

"Yes. The geth have amazing technology ranging from hacking to unbridled firepower. These colonists are tough to have lasted this long." Tali said.

"I wonder how many need medical aid." Kaidan said absently. Liara could only nod along with him as they passed the med bay. As they walked past it, Shepard could see some people inside. He made a mental note to go and see if he and his team could do anything later. They kept looking around and saw a few people guarding another entrance to the colony. Shepard walked over and saw one of the people turn to him.

"Oh are you Ghost?" the man said.

"Yes." Shepard responded.

"Oh, Ghost. I'm glad they finally sent someone to help us. I'm Fai Dan." The now named Fai Dan said.

"Shepard." Shepard said shaking the man's hand. That was when a woman in light armor came up.

"You a little late aren't you?" She said accusingly.

"Arcelia!" Fai Dan scolded.

"I just got wind of this a few hours ago. If I had known sooner, I would've been here sooner too." Shepard responded. Arcelia just glared at him.

"Sorry Ghost. Everyone's on edge since-" Fai Dan said until he was cut off by geth chatter.

"Watch out! We've got geth in the tower!" Arcelia shouted. The squad turned to see a few geth in the passage.

"Protect the heart of the colony!" Fai Dan shouted. Everyone took out their preferred weapon and fired on the geth, instantly killing them. Shepard and his squad charged in killing geth left and right as they ran up the tower. A geth hopper nearly got the jump on Shepard when Ash got sight of it and shot down.

"Thanks for the save." Shepard said as he continued to shoot. Ash merely nodded back smiling, happy she got the chance to be able to help Shepard. They continued on until they arrived to an area where the geth dropship was spewing out the enemy. Everyone quickly opened fire in several directions. Tali used her AI hacking on the geth juggernaut in the middle of the room, allowing them to knock the geth off guard. Kaidan and Liara quickly used warp on 2 geth hunters who had snuck up on Wrex and Garrus and continued to battle them. Wrex took on 3 troopers at the same time. While he was doing that, 2 geth snipers had a lock on him, ready to fire. Garrus saw them and with the precision of a master marksman he got both of the snipers, making Wrex's fight easier. Shepard and Ash were tag teaming the geth that were moving in and out of cover. Ashley kept using her assault rifle on the groups of units running around while Shepard backed her up by keeping off any hunters coming up from behind. He then used singularity on several geth, following up with an overload. The result being a type of EMP field that took out the captured geth. The geth dropship was spent of units and left. The squad having killed all of the groundside geth waited for a minute until Shepard confirmed that there were no geth near them since their scanners had been blocked the whole time.

"Come on we should go tell the colonists that it's safe. For now at least." Shepard said as he walked towards the stairs. Everyone gave an affirmative as they followed him down. After a few minutes of silently walking down, Shepard realized something about his sixth sense. Earlier he wouldn't have been able to sense either Tali or any of the biotics in their group unless he was near them like within 3 meters. Now though he could detect them if they were 12 meters away. Perhaps that his full power increased his sense? Maybe. This was only partially of his full power though. If his sense had increased that much because of unlocking it partially, what would it be like if it was his full power? Shepard decided not to worry about it since it wasn't that important.

"So are we going to roll out to where the geth are bunkered?" Ash asked Shepard.

"We will soon." Shepard responded.

"What about Fai Dan and the colonists?" Liara asked.

"That's why we're walking down. I've got a plan forming in my head, but first I need to get more information on things here before we do anything." Shepard said.

"We will be getting the geth, right Shepard?" Wrex asked still wanting to fight.

"Yes but I just want to make sure things are squared away in the colony before we leave." Shepard explained.

"They should be okay now." Tali added in.

"Yea but you all saw how they were. Some were hiding while others looked exhausted while using standard weapons and equipment. On top of that the geth could be under the colony affecting multiple things that support them." Shepard said knowing the damage was more than what it looked like.

"Hmm Shepard's right. At the least we should see if they have any other problems." Garrus said, mulling over Shepard's response.

"Yea I think it would be best to check in on things. Colonies like this are more vulnerable to other dangers besides invaders." Kaidan said looking at Shepard. The man mentioned knew Kaidan meant something by that and he didn't really care that much. If his past gave him experience with this that caused others to trust his judgement, who was he to say no? They all then walked out of the tower to see the Fai Dan and the others. Fai Dan was the first to greet them.

"The tower's secure thanks to you Ghost." Fai Dan said thankful. Shepard shook his head no.

"It wasn't just me, my team's help was critical to our success." Shepard said making his squad smile a little. Shepard never took full credit when he did things with others and they were happy that he always kept them in mind. Fai Dan nodded his head.

"Yes, my apologies. You all helped us greatly. Thank you." Fai Dan said looking at the squad. Each had a reaction to it.

Wrex held his head up proud.

Liara and Tali were smiling and blushing a little at the praise.

Ash and Kaidan were both smiling at the recognition.

Garrus tried to play it cool by crossing his arms and holding his head proudly like Wrex. Shepard seeing their reactions couldn't help but smirk a little.

"I'm just glad you colony is safe." Shepard said. Fai Dan looked at him again.

"I appreciate your concern and your efforts against the geth." Fai Dan said. Then Arcelia spoke up.

"They may have been slowed, but they'll be back. They always come back." Arcelia said in a dreadful tone.

"Help me find what the geth are after and I promise my team and I will get you out of here alive." Shepard said trying to ease the woman's nerves.

"We don't know what they're after. They came, they attacked us, that's all we know." Fai Dan said.

"You know where their base of operations is?" Shepard asked.

"Their main base is at the ExoGeni headquarters. A good place to start looking if you want answers." Fai Dan informed. That got Shepard to raise an eyebrow.

"What's ExoGeni?" Shepard asked not having heard of it.

"ExoGeni is the company that most of us work for. They fund the colony. The skyway up the tower leads directly to headquarters, you can't miss it." Arcelia said.

"Of course, there's an army of geth between here and there." Fai Dan added in. Shepard sighed.

"I just knew this wouldn't be easy." He muttered.

"Then maybe I can get this colony operational again." Fai Dan said hearing him. Shepard decided to ask about the colony.

"What do you need to get this place operational again?" Shepard asked.

"We need those geth destroyed." Arcelia said. Fai Dan nodded in agreement.

"Yes Arcelia is right. We still have geth in the tunnels underground. We also have more mundane problems like food, power and water. I'm not sure where we stand on those matters though. You should ask the people overseeing them." Fai Dan said.

"Wait you have geth in the tunnels under you? What information do you have on them?" Shepard asked.

"Not much. They're in the tunnels somewhere, likely guarding a transmitter to coordinate attacks. It's not a critical threat right now, but getting rid of it will help us defend against further attacks." Fai Dan said. Something about the way he spoke rose an alarm in Shepard's head, but he ignored it for now.

"What's the problem with power supply?" Shepard asked.

"May O'Connell is working on that. She'd know more about it." Fai Dan said pointing to where they entered the colony first.

"What of the water situation?" Shepard asked wondering who was in charge of that.

"Macha Doyle had been assigned to that particular issue. If you have any insight to offer, please speak to her. She should be where May is." Fai Dan responded. Shepard nodded paying attention to every detail.

"And the food situation?" Shepard asked again.

"Davin Reynolds is tasked with securing food for the immediate future. If you can assist, speak to him. He is in the freighter at the end of it." Fai Dan explained. Shepard nodded having gotten it all down.

"What can you say about the geth base's defenses?" Shepard asked.

"I don't have any details, but I'd wager it's more defended and fortified than a command post." Fai Dan said before Arcelia added in.

"They landed at least one geth ship at ExoGeni and I've seen large walking tanks on the skyway. Expect a hard fight." She said. Shepard thought everything over until he spoke up.

"You do know that's their plan right?" Shepard asked the 2. Everyone was looking at him confused.

"What do you mean?" Fai Dan asked.

"While one of those problems is no big threat, combined and coupled with the main geth force, it's merely a strategy to kill what's left of you." Shepard said shocking everyone. Arcelia got angry at him.

"Of course it is! We already know that!" She yelled at him.

"No you don't understand." Shepard said coldly, silencing her. He then continued, "In cutting off your water and food supplies, the geth have effectively made you all have a fixed number of supplies, making what defenders you have start to weaken from hunger and dehydrated which stunts them in fighting. In taking out the power they have ensured that what sensors and automated defenses you have left are turned off. Finally with the geth in the tunnels able to coordinate attacks, they made it possible for the other geth to know where to enter and attack. Not only that it provides the geth the ability to possibly drill under you all and come out in the middle of you colony." Shepard explained causing the 2 colonist to go wide eyed at the implications. Shepard's squad was stunned at his insight at it all and how much it made sense.

"I said it before and I'll say it again, scary." Wrex said with everyone else nodding in agreement.

"Please you have to take those geth in the tunnels out at least. Please!" Fai Dan said a little more frantic now.

"Don't worry. We are. Everyone go talk to the people Dan here mentioned and comeback once you have the information on things." Shepard told. His squad nodded and went to collecting everything. Shepard waited outside the tower until everyone came back.

"What did you find out?"

"The colonist can hunt varren after the geth are wiped out. Even then though the alpha varren is out there so it makes it more difficult. Trust me I know what they mean." Wrex said having spoken to Reynolds.

"Okay, what else?" Shepard asked.

"We need to find some power cells on this planet, possible an old grizzly's or a mako's power cells to power the colony's generator." Tali said having talked to May O'Connell and thinking of what could be used for the generator. Shepard nodded.

"Alright good. What about the water supply?" Shepard said. Liara spoke this time.

"The geth have turned off the water valves in the tunnels. For the water to flow, they must be switched on." Shepard nodded thinking it over.

"And then there is the geth's main force." Kaidan said. Shepard thought it all over quietly.

"That means we will need 3 teams. One to deal with the main base, and the other 2 to deal with the problems here. That means the one team will have 3 while the other teams will consist of 2 each." Garrus said. Then Shepard spoke up.

"Or 2 teams consisting of 3 each and a team of 1." He said.

"Shepard what are you talking about?" Tali asked.

"Look I know what I'm about to say is a little unorthodox-" Shepard said until Wrex cut him off.

"It's not unorthodox, it's suicide." Wrex said having realized what Shepard was going to say.

"What do you mean Wrex?" Liara and Tali asked at the same time.

"He means that Shepard is planning to go alone." Kaidan answered. This caused everyone to look at Shepard who nodded in response.

"No it is suicide!" Ash said not wanting things to be like this. Shepard then quieted them down.

"Look all those tasks will require ingenuity and power as well as multiple people. This colony also needs more better equipped and trained defenders. And I can't be in multiple places at once, but I can slip into a heavy defended base." Shepard reasoned. He then looked around and noticed that Fai Dan and Arcelia were a ways away from them out of ear shot. Shepard then leaned toward everyone. Seeing this, they too leaned in a little.

"Also when we entered this colony, I sensed something abnormal. It was different from biotics or electricity and the most abnormal part was it was concentrated around the colonists and the middle of the freighter. I want you all to figure out what's going on here." Shepard said. Having traveled with Shepard for awhile now they took his word for it. They themselves noticed some abnormal behavior in a few of the colonists but didn't think to much of it. Now though...

"Also keep you helmets on, just in case. This thing feels like a mist so it may be an airborne type of something." Everyone nodded except Tali who just stared at Shepard. Shepard noticed and couldn't help but rub the back of his head and apologize.

"Sorry Tali. Anyway the teams are going to be as such. Team 1: the girls, team 2: the guys." Shepard said. Before anyone could question it he explained why, "The reason being is because this organization makes balanced teams." At their confused expressions he explained a little more clearly.

"Each of the girls have developed into one particular set off skills. The guys on the other hand have gone into a mix of 2 each. Think of it like this, Tali tech skills can only be matched by a combination of both Kaidan's and Garrus'. Ash's is matched by Wrex and Garrus' skills when it comes to weaponry. Liara is matched by Kaidan and Wrex in the biotics department. That doesn't mean either of your teams is superior though, but equal." Shepard explained. Everyone thought it over and noticed he was right.

"Wait Shepard what about you?" Ashley asked. Shepard looked down for a bit before he looked at them seriously.

"Not to sound arrogant, but I think I equal both of your teams. You all saw how I took on Wrex back on the Normandy and that was me holding back a lot. Granted Wrex did to but not as much. Sorry Wrex but if it was a real death match, I would have killed you." Shepard said.

"I noticed that, but don't think it means I wouldn't have gone down easily if I didn't hold back." Wrex said grinning a little.

"Oh I know. I was counting on that." Shepard said smiling. Shepard then turned his attention to everyone.

"Okay Wrex and Ashley are the leaders. Any complaints?" Shepard spoke. No one made a sound.

"Okay then, be careful." Shepard said as he and everyone else made their way into the tower. Shepard separated from everyone else. As he continued to gain a further difference from them he felt something he hadn't felt since he and Zaeed parted ways a long time ago, loss. Not the kind when someone special dies, but when people whose company you enjoy suddenly leave and you are all alone. He couldn't help but smirk a little at himself.

'Mom was right, my heart does care to much.' Shepard thought as he arrived into the garage and found a mako. He entered it and began to turn it on.

"Isaac think you can control the turrent?" Shepard asked.

"Ohhhh yeeeeaaaaahhh." Isaac said happy he could finally shoot something for a change. Shepard smiled as Isaac took control of the mako's cannon and turrent. The garage door opened up and he gased the accelerator out.

* * *

So yeah, here we go. Read and Review please! Hope you enjoyed it!


	16. Feros part 2

Okay first things first. Thank you for making me have a new personal record on views and visitors in a single day! Also for the guest(s) who asked those 2 questions, 3 things.

1) Thank you for making a review

2) About the case with the Thorian, you'll find out soon enough.

3) Miranda and Shepard would only be genetically modified humans. That is their only connection, besides I did say it was earlier data and results. What I meant by that was that the data wasn't completed until Hannah Shepard deleted it before leaving the base. Plus I like to think of Henry Lawson as a very arrogant man, so he decided to take a once over on the data and then trashed it, taking only basic parts from it. Unlike Shepard, Miranda is still created by one brand of genetics, not two like my Shepard in this story.

I hope that answers your questions clear enough. If not, then please post another question in the reviews, I always check. That said... ENJOY!

* * *

Recap: "Ohhhh yeeeeaaaaahhh." Isaac said happy he could finally shoot something for a change. Shepard smiled as Isaac took control of the mako's cannon and turrent. The garage door opened up and he gased the accelerator out.

Now

As he exited, a geth ship moved out of cover and began deploying ground units on the skyway. Shepard drove forward with Isaac aiming the cannon at any and all geth. Shepard drove over all the geth troopers while Isaac fired at the armatures. As he continued to make his way on the skyway his radio came to life with someone's voice.

"The last batch went south. What are they looking for?" The radio cackled out.

"Who could that be?" Shepard asked.

"No clue. The signal's too weak to pinpoint." Isaac said as kept firing on the armatures. After taking them out, Isaac caught more chatter.

"Hey Shepard. There's more going on now. Still can't find their location. I'll try to boost the signal." Isaac said. A few seconds later the radio cackled again.

"Any sign of movement? Lizbeth could still be in there. It's only been a few days." the feminine voice said. Shepard kept trying to figure out what was going on until it continued.

"She's my daughter. I'll wait as long as I have to." Okay now Shepard knew there had to be some survivors up ahead further down. He and Isaac came across mor geth armatures and attacked. The armatures merely slowed the duo down as they continued to ride up the skyway. After getting past the armatures, they came up to a garage. Shepard waited for the door to open. And waited... and waited.

"Shepard I think the door's out." Isaac stated. Shepard nodded.

"Yea and I doubt the mako's cannon can do anything to it either." Shepard said as he exited the vehicle.

"Shepard! There could be geth hiding around!" Isaac said a little more emotionally.

"Then keep a lookout with the mako while I hack the door." Shepard responded with is omni-tool out. As soon as he reached the door, he began to hack the controls. The firewalls were nothing really. Unfortunately, Shepard had to figure out a way to link different circuits together. That was when several geth troopers had started coming up. Isaac noticed and firing the turrent only for more geth to come up, this time it was Destroyers. Isaac noticed that the destroyers were keeping a close proximity to each other.

'Probably for higher intelligence.' he surmised. The mako's turrent wouldn't be able to take them out fast enough, but maybe... Isaac fired the cannon right in the middle of the group. The mass accelerator round caused a splash effect, damaging most of the geth. Isaac then used the turrent on the remaining ones, finishing them off.

"Nice one Isaac!" Shepard congratulated as he finally got the door operational again.

"Thanks Shepard, now get in." Isaac said. Shepard quickly got in and began driving as the door opened up.

"We've got movement. Some kind of vehicle. Not one of the geth." The radio crackled again. Shepard knew if they could track him now, that meant they were close by. He stopped and looked around, noticing the ramp leading out. Right beside it seemed like some sort of smaller ramp leading downwards. He exited the mako, took out his sniper and looked down the ramp to see people, survivors of some sort behind barricades.

'Well time to meet these people. Let's hope they're friendly.' Shepard mentally thought as he walked down the ramp, switching to his assault rifle. If these people were hostile and had numbers, he was going to need some rapid fire weapon. As he almost reached the people's line of sight he started thinking about his team and what they were doing.

Back with the team at the same time

As Shepard had gone up to the garage, his team went down to the tunnels. When Shepard split off from the group, Tali and Liara felt a little out of place, as did Ashley.

"So who's doing what?" Ashley asked Wrex realizing Shepard only made teams, but didn't assign anything specific. Wrex hmmed a little before answering.

"My team will deal with the geth, while your's deal with the other 3 things." Wrex said.

"Why can't we do both together?" Ashley asked, not liking being left out of the action.

"Because Shepard was right. Those colonists are barely standing as it is. This plan allows us to multitask. Even though both are teams are balanced out, your is more composed of thinkers while mine is more composed of fighters. We will continue down until you find something that can help the colonists. That's when we split from each other." Wrex said.

"So when my team finds something.." Ash said.

"My team will be a distraction basically. We keep the geth occupied while your team finds what's needed." Wrex said.

"And when we finish, we join up with you." Ash finished nodding at the plan.

"Or the other way around." Wrex added. Ashley nodded in approval. She then turned to Tali.

"Tali I need you to keep a constant scanning signal to find those power cells. Can you do that?" Ashley asked.

"Yes don't worry we'll have them soon." Tali said as she took out her omni-tool and began scanning for any power signatures. Ashley then turned toward Liara.

"Liara, did the colonists give you any schematics of these tunnels to find those water valves?" Ashley asked. Liara nodded taking out her omni-tool and pulling the schematics.

"Yes, but it looks the valves are further down. Likely guarded by geth." Liara said. Then Wrex chimed in.

"Don't forget, if you see the alpha varren, kill it. That will allow the colonists to hunt after we kick the geth out." Wrex said.

"Any idea of what it looks like?" Ashley asked not having seen an alpha varren before.

"An alpha varren is a bit bigger than normal varren and more red tinted." Wrex said. Ashley nodded. With that everyone traveled down the tunnels together. When they turned into one of the side tunnels they were assaulted by geth. Thinking quickly Wrex used warp on the one that took cover and started firing with his shotgun. Kaidan followed up with a singularity holding 3 geth. Ashley took advantage and used her assault rifle on the captured group. Garrus took note of 2 snipers and used his marksmanship to the best of it's ability and knocked their lights out. Tali used overload on a trooper and then pelted it with her shotgun rounds. When the geth were destroyed Liara took her schematics out and noticed something.

"There should be a valve right around here." She said aloud looking for one. Tali also looked around while everyone else was making sure there were no geth coming there way from the other side. Tali then noticed something that looked like a terminal.

"Is this it?" Tali asked pointing at it. Liara looked at and noticed it was exactly where it was on the map.

"Yes." Liara said as she moved and began to activate it. After pressing a few keys on it, another screen slide out from under it and then a loud thud sounded out.

"Okay it's activated, but we need to find 2 more." Tali said. Liara looked at her schematics again.

"According to this, if we just follow the pipeline down we should find the next 2 valves." Liara then looked down to see where everyone else had taken cover and were peaking out for any geth. She and Tali walked to them and looked at what Ashley was crouching next to.

"Ashley, I think you're right beside the next water valve." Tali said. Ashley looked at them confused until she looked to her left. Right in front of her was another screen, just like the one earlier.

"I'm guessing that's what a water valve looks like?" Ashley said rhetorically. Liara nodded.

"Yes, we need to switch it on." Tali moved in front of it and began typing until the second screen popped up and another loud thud was heard.

"There, that only leaves one more." Tali said. Everyone nodded and began to make their way up before Kaidan spoke up.

"Wait." he whispered out.

"What you hear something Alenko?" Garrus asked.

"No remember what Shepard said? We should probably wear our helmets now." Kaidan said taking his out and putting it on.

"Right." Garrus said remembering now and following Kaidan's example. Everyone else followed suit except Tali cause she... you know. Everyone then continued up until Tali spoke up.

"Hey wait a minute. I'm detecting 2 power signatures. One's to our left, it's small but closer. The other's to our right and larger, further down there." She said. Everyone looked at the ways she pointed and noticed 2 functioning doors.

"I'd wager the geth are with the bigger one." Kaidan said.

"And the power cells needed could be the smaller one." Garrus added.

"Okay, we'll take the bigger one and you take the smaller one." Wrex said as he made his way towards the right.

"Okay. When we finish up here we'll get back to you as fast as we can." Ashley said.

"Right." Wrex responded. Kaidan and Garrus quickly followed. Ashley, Tali and Liara then turned towards the left and walked through. What they found was a large room.

'Probably a storage facility before the geth caved it in.' Ashley thought with her weapon drawn. Tali had her shotgun out and Liara had the pistol out. As soon as they walked a couple feet in, something growled at them.

'Okay that was no geth.' The group thought. Then Liara saw a shadow move and lunge in Ashley's direction. Quickly moving she pulled Ashley to her and what landed where Ashley was previously stood a varren. Tali quickly shot it and killed it. Ashley saw what could have taken her head and nearly killed her.

"Thanks Liara."

"It's no trouble. You might have done the same." Liara responded. Ashley got up and quickly ran out with rifle out and saw 3 varren charging at her. She quickly used a spray-in-pray on them, killing one and seriously wounding the other 2. Tali and Liara joined in by using carnage and warp, killing the other 2 varren that almost got Ashley. They then joined up to see another 2 come running at them and quickly overwhelmed them with bullets. After they were dead, they thought they were safe.

"So that was fun." Ashley said sarcastically.

"Really? I thought it was terrifying." Liara retorted, panting a little.

"She wasn't serious Liara." Tali said a little energetic. Before Liara could say anything back, a loud growl echoed throughout the room. Instantly they all huddled back to back, guns up and looking all around. Then Ashley spotted it.

"It's the alpha!" She shouted and started shooting. Liara and Tali both saw it and used Lift combined with Carnage on it. Ashley completely unloaded on it and finally when the lift ended, the varren fell down, riddled with bullet holes.

"Okay, that's one thing down." Ashley said. Liara only nodded. Tali nodded when her omni-tool beeped. She looked at it and noticed that the power cells were close. She then noticed that the signature was coming from the overturned mako near the exit. She quickly walked up to it and began searching for the compartment where the power cells are usually stored.

"Tali what are you doing with that mako?" Ashley asked watching her. Liara looked on with peaked interest.

"The power cells we're looking for are in here." Tali said as she found the panel and began to take out the power cells. Ashley watched for a minute before she spoke.

"So um... What do you think about Shepard?" Ash asked blushing a little. The whole area got real quiet. Tali looked at Ashley in shock and Liara looked very embarrassed. Ash herself now had a full blush.

"Um I-I think he's kind and uh smart." Tali said wringing her fingers nervously.

"He's v-very i-interesting. And a-a l-little h-h-handsome." Liara stuttered out.

"Yea and he's a pretty good leader, given his past." Ashley said rubbing her the back of her head nervously. Damn this is awkward.

"More could be said about him, I think." Liara said poking her fingers together.

"He's brave, modest, and fun to be around." Tali said with a little more confidence.

"He always listens and he has..." Ashley was about to say until she stopped herself. Her head looked like a cherry now.

"Has a great what, Ashley?" Tali asked. Liara was now staring at Ashley. She was having a hard time seeing how red humans could turn.

"I umm I said h-he... has a great ass." Ashley whispered out, but they still heard it.

"Yeah." Both Liara and Tali said dreamily until they realized what happened. They were all speechless for a few minutes until Ash tried to move the conversation over. (Okay that whole scene was painful. If any of you got anything better. Please send it over.)

"Tali, did you get the power cells?" Ash asked after clearing her throat.

"Umm y-yea." Tali said in embarrassment. They all then exited and made their way over to where the guys were.

With the guy team at the same time

Wrex and company made their way over to where the larger signature was. As soon as they entered, 2 geth troopers were right in front of them. Wrex used his shotgun on the left one and Kaidan took out the right one with a warp and his pistol. After the relatively quick skirmish they continued on silently until Garrus heard something.

"You hear that?" he asked. Wrex and Kaidan both stopped and listened.

"It sounds like." Kaidan said.

"Drones." Wrex finished. Garrus looked behind and saw 2 geth drones drop from above. He quickly used overload on them, disabling their shields and ducked out of the way while Kaidan and Wrex both shot the drones, finishing them.

"Good ears, Vakarian." Wrex said.

"Thanks." Garrus responded. Kaidan nodded at the byplay. Soon enough they began to walk forward and found the geth transmitter. They also found 3 krogan warriors and 2 geth hunters. Moving quickly, Garrus sniped one of the geth hunters. Kaidan shot the other geth hunter down with a shot from his pistol while he used warp on one of the warriors. Wrex ran at one of the warriors and quickly headbutted the guy in the face knocking him down. Wrex then took his shotgun and fired it in the krogan's face 5 times, killing him quickly. Kaidan took his krogan on with a throw causing the krogan to slow down. Kaidan then followed it up by shooting the krogan in both knee caps. He then took an upgraded grenade and threw it right next to the downed krogan. Garrus was having a little trouble with the krogan he was facing. He managed to score a point blank sniper shot to the face, but with krogan regeneration and the fact this one was keeping close, it was proving to be a little challenging. The other 2 saw this and decided to help out. Kaidan used Neural Shock to paralyze the warrior while Wrex used warp to damage his armor. Garrus quickly shot the krogan dead upon seeing this.

"Okay, what's next?" Garrus asked. Wrex merely pointed his shotgun at the geth transmitter. He was about to fire when Kaidan grabbed his hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kaidan asked.

"Destroying the transmitter." Wrex replied.

"You destroy it like that, for all the geth in these tunnels will swarm us for sure." Kaidan said.

"He could be right." Garrus added in as he watched the entrance from where they came from.

"Okay then what do you think we should do?" Wrex asked annoyed. Kaidan looked to where Garrus was.

"Garrus I'm going to need some help. Wrex take Garrus' place for now." Kaidan said. They both did as they were told. Wrex watched the entrance while Kaidan and Garrus worked on the transmitter. After successfully shutting down, they rigged it with grenades. All linked to a switch. Both walked back over to Wrex and handed him the switch.

"Wanna do the honors?" Kaidan said.

"Hell yea." Wrex said as he pressed the button. The transmitter exploded, completely destroyed.

"Okay now let's go help the others out." Wrex said as they exited.

Both groups walked out at the same time.

"You finished?" Ash asked.

"Yep, you get the power cells?" Wrex asked nodding.

"We got them, plus we killed the alpha varren." Ash said smirking a bit.

"Good that means we're almost done." Garrus said.

"Yes all we need is to unlock the last valve and we can go back." Liara said. Kaidan nodded.

"Yea hopefully Shepard will be back by then." he said.

"What's wrong Kaidan? You miss him?" Tali said teasingly. Kaidan looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No Tali I'm just worried. Unlike all of you, I've met Shepard twice before he was on Eden Prime. I know he's strong, but I also know that he's had to face a lot of things alone." Kaidan said making everyone look down at the ground. Even Wrex was a little worried. He Confidence in Shepard, but if Shepard is forced to take that form again, the results could be bad. This time though, he might not have anyone to help him. Wrex looked and noticed everyone was worrying a little now.

"While you are right Alenko, it's out of our hands now. All we can do now is hope Shepard comes back in one piece." Wrex said. Everyone else looked at him and nodded. Whether they knew it or not, Shepard had become someone important to them.

"AAAHHH OHH YAH!" a scream sounded out. Everyone looked in the direction it came from and ran to it. They entered another side tunnel and came face to face with more geth. Luckily, in taking out the transmitter, these geth were a little more reckless. They didn't last long as they attacked them in perfect synchronization. They then exited the tunnel and found someone.

"Why are you here?" The guy growled out.

"We're here to help." Ashley said.

"Who? Us or the- OWWWW!" The guy tried to say until he jolted in pain holding his head.

"Ughh That was a good one very intense." The guy said as it looked like he was talking to someone.

"What's the matter with you?" Kaidan asked.

"Just invoking the master's whip. Help's remind me I'm still alive. You're here for the geth aren't you? You're not the only one interested in those things." The man said.

"Who else is looking for the geth?" Tali asked. The guy shook his head.

"Not looking for, looking to get rid of. They're a thorn in the side of the- YAHHHH! Trying to get to the- yehh! yhgghhahaha." The guy said until something caused him great pain.

"Maybe we should kill him?" Wrex said unsure.

"I've thought about that several times. I'd rather die fighting." The man said.

"We can help you told us what your're fighting." Liara said out of concern.

"Not that kind of fighting. It's like running through a thorn bush. The more you struggle- times up, company's coming. Ask Fai Dan, ask him about the-AAAAAHHHHHHWWWW!" The then feel to his knees in pain, holding his head. Everyone turned around and saw some more geth. The quickly fire and destroyed the 2 in front of them.

"We can't help him now. We need to get back to the colony." Wrex said as he began to enter the side tunnel out, only to find more geth. Everyone fought until the made enough to all get inside it. They then continued to use whatever skills they had that helped. Eventually the geth lost and were dead. Everyone filed out as fast as they could until Liara saw something.

"Tali look it's the last valve! Help me turn it on!" Liara shouted. They both quickly turned it on as fast as they could.

"There that did it! The system is active." Tali said.

"That's great, now let's go!" Ashley shouted back. They all ran to the exit, thinking more geth could pop up any minute. After a minute they made it outside and into the the colony. Everyone was panting hard. Even Wrex was doing a great impression of Darth Vader for a minute. (haha)

"Okay, *huff* we should all *huff* go tell *huff* everyone what we did *huff*." Kaidan said.

"You're *huff* right." Ash said as she started moving to where Reynolds was.

"Okay *huff*." Liara said as she made her way to Macha Doyle.

"They should be in raised spirits now *huff*" Tali said as she went to where O'Connell was. Wrex and Garrus both sat down for a bit while Kaidan went to talk to Fai Dan.

"Excuse me. We finished off the geth in those tunnels." Kaidan said.

"Oh thank you. It should prove invaluable." Fai Dan said.

"No problem." Kaidan said smiling. Wrex then walked to where Tali and Liara were while Garrus walked towards Kaidan. Then Kaidan noticed something about Fai Dan. The guy suddenly began to look as if he was in pain.

"Hey are you o-" Kaidan asked as he was cut off.

"I'm sorry!" Fai Dan shouted out as he fell down to the ground. The next thing Kaidan knew someone hit him in the back of the head with a blunt object and he was out. Garrus looked to who hit Kaidan. It was Arcelia!

"What the hell are you-!" Garrus said before he dodged the attack. He was then tackled by something that came out of nowhere.

'What the fuck!' Garrus thought before the thing knocked him out. Back with Ashley, Reynolds jumped at her and she quickly knocked him out.

'What's going on?!' She thought as she saw something knock Garrus out. Then the thing came at her. She quickly gunned it down.

'What the hell is that thing?!' She thought. Then something hit her in the back of the head and she knew no more.

Wrex saw what happened and was attacked from behind one of the creatures that just attacked Ashley. 2 more jumped on him and eventually began to overwhelm him.

"What are these things?!" Wrex shouted as he fell down. Tali was quickly knocked out by a colonist. Liara used her biotics on the colonists that attacked and then she felt something with claws hit her right in the back of the head.

'Shepard... help us.' Was Liara's last conscious thought.

Back with Shepard, Where and when we left him (I know, bit of a bad move.)

Shepard had just got into their view when of them shouted.

"That's close enough!" A man wearing a scientist uniform said. Shepard noticed that there were more people wearing either work clothes or armor. Some had weapons too... pointed at him.

"Relax Jeong. They're obviously not geth." The woman beside the man said.

"Get back Juliana." the now named Jeong snapped at Juliana. Jeong then set his sights back on Shepard.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Jeong demanded. There was something in the man's tone that grated on Shepard's nerves.

"My name's Shepard and I'm the Ghost of the Terminus. I suggest you put that weapon down unless you're prepared to use it." Shepard stated in an annoyed tone. Before Jeong could make a comeback, Juliana spoke.

"Don't worry about him. He only cares about the 'company'." Juliana said smirking a little.

"Who says I was worried?" Shepard responded smirking right back, showing everyone that he didn't consider Jeong a threat.

"And you trust to easily, Juliana." Jeong growled out.

"I'm just glad to see another friendly face. I thought we were the only humans left on this planet." Juliana retorted. Shepard raised an eyebrow at her answer. They didn't know.

"Fai Dan along with some of the colonists at Zhu's Hope are still alive." Shepard said. Juliana turned to Jeong in anger.

"I thought you said they were all dead." she accused. Jeong looked back at her not flinching a bit.

"I said they were 'probably' all dead." Jeong defended himself. Something about the guy reminded Shepard about the people who ran numbers for the gangs back on Omega. Not as dangerous, but just as slimy and dirty.

"Despite being under assault by the geth, they have survived. That colony is well defended. Especially now that my team is there helping get it back on it's feet and fighting alongside them." Shepard said watching their reactions.

"We know what that's like. Those damn synthetics are relentless." Juliana replied. Shepard nodded while looking around. He had to admit, the area was an easily defensible position, if a little small.

"I'll do what I can, but I need more information to help." Shepard said.

"What kind of information?" Jeong asked, eyes squinting at Shepard with suspicion.

"Ignore him. The geth are at the ExoGeni Headquarters. Take them out over there." Juliana said.

"Those headquarters are private property, mercenary. Remove the geth and nothing else." Jeong said. Shepard looked coldly at him.

"If they don't have a connection to slavers or anything that is putting people in danger, I couldn't care less about your company's secrets." Shepard replied. He noticed Jeong looked frightened for moment.

"Shepard before you go... my daughter, Lizbeth. She's missing-" Juliana said before Jeong cut in.

"He shouldn't waste time poking around. We can do a proper accounting of our casualties after the geth are gone." Jeong said. Juliana looked as if she was going to explode at Jeong until Shepard beat her to it. He biotically lifted Jeong into the air and brought Jeong over to him. He then had his omni-blade out and at Jeong's neck.

"Listen well because I will only say this once: No one wants to listen to you. You may try to write people off as numbers and other things, but I can't. She can't. Perhaps everyone here can't either. And the only reason that you still have your tongue attached and not on the ground, is because I am allowing it. So Shut Your Mouth!" Shepard snarled at the guy. He then dropped him and Jeong scurried off. Shepard then turned to Juliana.

"Where is she?" Shepard said.

"She was hiding in the ExoGeni building." Juliana informed getting out of her shock.

"Oh yeah! There are several places she could hide... for a short time." Jeong said sarcastically. Shepard then shot an omni-bolt out of his omni-bow right by Jeong's head.

"What did I say?" Shepard asked coldly. Jeong just stayed quiet. Shepard nodded and said, "Good boy."

"If she's in there, I'll get her out." Shepard said.

"Thank you Ghost. Thank you." Juliana said gratefully. Shepard nodded and began to walk out when another scientist approached him.

"Excuse me?" the scientist asked.

"Yes?" Shepard said.

"I was hoping to speak with you. I have a bit of a problem." the man said.

"Who's asking?" Shepard asked wondering who this person was.

"Dr. Gavin Hossle." the scientist said.

"What do you need?" Shepard asked.

"I need to retrieve some data. It's not a big job, but it pays well." Hossle said

"I'm listening." Shepard said.

"Good, good. Poking around the ruins has become a little too dangerous for me." Hossle said. Shepard nodded.

"All you need to do is find my console at ExoGeni headquarters and drop the data onto this OSD. It's that simple." Hossle explained, handing over the OSD.

"You're real quick to trust me on this." Shepard stated.

"Have you seen anyone else heading to ExoGeni lately?" Hossle asked in a smug tone.

"Fair enough." Shepard said as he left. He then walked back to the mako and entered it. As soon as the door closed Isaac spoke again.

"That guy was a dick."

"Completely." Shepard agreed as he started driving again. Shepard then drove up the rode until he came to another garage door.

"Well here we go again." Shepard said.

"Yep, I got the cannon ready to go." Isaac said.

"Awesome." Shepard replied back as he gased it again. Right out of the gate, he saw a geth fortification. Isaac quickly fired a cannon, the splash affect destroying any geth near the impact zone. There was also an armature firing at them. While the round hadn't hit it dead on, it was still damaged. Shepard used the mako's thrusters to jump up and as soon as they landed, Isaac fired again, destroying the armature. Shepard then continued to drive until he picked up radio chatter.

"You owe us for this. The skyway is dangerous right now."

"Package is secure and ready for transport."

'What the hell?' Shepard thought. He quickly tracked the signal and found it's location. If he found it so easily, the geth definitely did too. He then drove further to find them. As he approached the radio cackled again.

"Wait! Shut down the comm, we've got incoming geth! Damn it shut down the comm!"

He drove as fast as he could and could see that the geth were entering some kind of tunnel built into the skyway. Shepard hurried and exited the mako after parking right beside the entrance. As soon as he approached, he saw a corpse laying right in the passage. Shepard noticed multiple exit wounds on the guy.

'Poor bastard didn't even have half a chance.' Shepard thought silently. Shepard closed his eyes and sensed 2 geth inside. He quietly took out his shotgun and walked in. He felt one geth was to his left the other was in a side tunnel running under the passage entrance. He quickly turned to his right, aimed below and fired right at the hidden geth, instantly killing it. The next geth having noticed the shot, jumped out of cover only to be hit by an overload and then shot by a shotgun round. Shepard then walked to where the next corpse was and found a locked container of some kind. He hacked through it easily and found what looked to be a data drive. Shepard then looked over it and found it to be blueprints for a cryogenic technology. After looking over it Shepard noticed somethings that could help negate the side effects of his cryotube. He pocketed it and got back to the mako. Shepard then continued on to the ExoGeni Headquarters. As he finally parked at the entrance he noticed some geth moving around the room inside. Isaac saw them too and fired right inside, destroying them. Shepard then exited the mako and entered the building, where 2 more geth tried to ambush him. They only got a warp and 2 pistol shots for their trouble. Shepard then noticed a energy field of some sort.

"If that's like the barrier curtain I faced on Therum, than we won't get passed that." Shepard said.

"Yes, you're right. Hey there's a locked door over there." Isaac said seeing the door. Shepard hacked through and walked in. As soon as he entered another area which was blocked off, he noticed a dormant armature. Moving quickly he threw a High Explosive grenade on it. Within seconds the armature was destroyed before it could even get up. Shepard went back and noticed a passage way the went down.

"Looks like a one way trip, Shepard." Isaac observed.

"Yeah. Oh well." Shepard said as he jumped down. He took out his sniper and looked down the hall, only to see and area covered in water, and loose wires hanging from the ceiling.

'Great, as if I had enough to worry about.' Shepard thought as he rolled his eyes. He then switched to his rifle as he crept down the hall and stopped the end and looked over the side. The only thing that had him worried was the varren corpse.

'Someone, or something killed that varren. Chances are it could still be here.' Shepard thought as he looked around for any sign of life. None yet. He then walked down to inspect the corpse when he saw movement and a shot rang out. Some girl had sot at him.

"Dammit, I'm sorry I thought you were the geth, or one of those varren." the girl said. Shepard noticed she was wearing an employee's uniform.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Shepard asked, ignoring the shot and her apologies.

"It's not my fault, I stayed back here to backup data while everyone ran. Then the geth ship latched on and the power went out. I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way was blocked." the girl explained.

"Don't worry, I'll find us a way out when I find what the geth are after and I kick them out." Shepard said.

"It's not the geth, it's the energy field they put up. They don't want anyone else getting access to the-" The girl said until she stopped herself.

"The what?" Shepard asked a little more firmly.

"I don't know for certain, but I think they're here for the Thorian." the girl relented. Shepard rose an eyebrow at her.

"I've never heard of that. What is it?" Shepard asked.

"It's an indigenous life-form. ExoGeni was studying it." she replied.

"What else can you tell me about it?" Shepard asked.

"I can't do that, not with those geth lurking around. Look, we need to get out of here, past that field." she said a little more antsy now.

"Okay, but later you're telling me everything. Any ideas?" Shepard said.

"The geth have been laying power cables connected to their ship all over the place. You could follow those, but there's geth all over the place." She said.

"What do you know about the Thorian?" Shepard asked.

"I really don't know much, I think it's some kind of plant being. I know it's very hold. Thousands of years even." She said. Shepard could tell she was lying.

"Why would the geth be interested in the Thorian?" Shepard asked.

"It's just a plant, I don't know why the geth would care. ExoGeni was studying it, but I don't think they found anything special." the girl said.

"Tell me about yourself." Shepard said. The girl looked bewildered for a moment.

"Me? I'm just a research assistant for ExoGeni. I came her with my mother. I don't even know if she made it out alive." The girl said looking saddened at the last part. Shepard realized that this girl might be Lizbeth.

"She's with some others from the colony. She's safe for now." Shepard said. Lizbeth looked at him hopeful.

"She's safe? Thank god. Please, just get that field down so I can go see my mother again." Lizbeth pleaded.

"Fine I'll go see if I can open some doors." Shepard said.

"Wait, take my ID, it should get you passed any locked doors." Shepard knew she had been lying earlier. Anyone with an ID that clearance on any door in a company had to be extremely high up, part of a team possibly. Shepard took it and walked towards the other end where the door was. Unfortunately, varren came rushing at him from some unknown spot. Fortunately he had his rifle out so they were finished quickly. He then unlocked the door and came to a flight of stairs. He silently walked up them listening and looking for any movement. He then heard someone.

"Stupid machine! Access encrypted files." the person, sounding like a krogan, said. He walked up until he found the he did he could hear the krogan arguing with something.

"No I don't want to review protocol!"

Shepard could see the krogan was mad. "Arrgh! Tell me what I want to know before I blow your virtual ass into actual dust!" The krogan threatened.

"If you want access you are going to want to either make an appointment or get security access level 4-" The VI said.

"Stupid Machine!" The krogan yelled at it.

"They're just the worse aren't they?" Shepard asked, right beside the krogan now, with his shotgun out.

"Yea they are- wait a minute!" The krogan turned to see who was talking to him only to meet a shotgun barrel right in the face.

*bang* The krogan fell down with a thud. Shepard looked at the VI.

"ExoGeni employees are reminded that the discharge of weapons while on company property is strictly forbidden." The VI before it continued, "Welcome back, Research Assistant Elizabeth Baynham." The VI said. Shepard wasn't in the least bit shocked.

"What was the last user attempting to access?" Shepard asked.

"Fetching data. The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of Subject Species 37, the Thorian." Shepard grew more serious.

"What information is on it?" Shepard asked.

"Aside from lacking proper access, there is no new data on Species 37. All sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu's Hope have been inactive for several cycles." The VI replied, startling Shepard.

'That can't be good.' Shepard thought, then spoke, "What does Zhu's Hope have to do with the Thorian?" He asked hoping he was wrong.

"Species 37 is located within the substructure of the Zhu's Hope outpost." The VI replied. Shepard was now getting nervous for his team now.

"Tell me everything you know about the Thorian." Shepard demanded.

"The Thorian is a simple plant life-form that exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon among other flora. Through dispersion and the eventual inhalation of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including humans. The Zhu's Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Before sensors went offline, almost 85% of all test subjects were infected." The Vi informed.

'That's what I felt back at the outpost! Oh dear god, I left my team there!' Shepard was now very concerned about things.

"Are you saying ExoGeni knew about this?" Shepard asked through gritted teeth.

"It was deemed necessary to assess the true potential of Species 37."

"Don't feed me that garbage!" Shepard shouted.

"Shepard it might be best to contact Joker now." Isaac suggested.

"Your right." Shepard said as he turned on his comm link.

"Joker you there? Damn I'm being blocked. We need to get rid of the field then head straight back to Zhu's Hope." Shepard.

"I agree." Isaac said. Shepard then turned his attention back to the VI.

"What can you tell me about the field?" Shepard asked.

"All sensors are offline. Power fluctuations detected, but am unable to determine the source." The VI replied.

"Then I guess I have to bust my way out." Shepard said as he left. Shepard turned and walked left and down the resulting hallway. He then continued down and up the stairs as he saw the geth ship's attachments. He fired at the 2 geth that seemed to be praying near some type of orb.

"Great, the power is coming from the ship." Isaac said.

"Any ideas?" Shepard asked.

"We should probably try to find any weaknesses in the hooks themselves." Isaac said.

"Yea maybe find something that can detach it from our side." Shepard commented nodded at it. Shepard then jumped down and walked through the next hallway, passed charred corpses. He then came onto a group of geth troopers where he threw his assault rifle into the air while going into an adrenaline rush mixed with biotics to quicken himself, used overload on the one to his left, a warp on the one to his right, performed a singularity on the other 3 in the middle. He then grabbed his shotgun with his right hand, grabbed his pistol with his left and used each weapon to kill the geth on each side. Dropping both weapons, he caught his rifle and barraged the trapped geth. For a minute Shepard was speechless at what he just did as his world sped up again.

"Shepard that was incredible! You never did anything like that before." Isaac said surprised.

"I know." Shepard said a little in shock. It was almost instinctual when he did it. He then noticed that he was on the other side of the energy field. Quickly picking up his weapons and attaching them back on their holsters, he took the left way and came across 3 krogan. He instantly took out 3 grenades and threw at each krogan. When the krogan saw Shepard they executed a battle roar. Unfortunately for them, the grenades Shepard threw went down their throats and into their stomachs. Shepard saw this and hit the explosive button. The end result: the room was covered in gore. Luckily Shepard got to cover fast enough. He then went over to the console and downloaded what Hossle wanted. Shepard backtracked quickly coming up to a another flight of stairs. He moved up it in no time and eventually came to a big room full of geth. He quickly dual wielded his rifle and pistol, taking them all out fast. After the massacre, he noticed the room had several hooks, many cables, and a lot of geth terminals.

'This has to be it.' Shepard thought as he moved to the other side of the room.

"Shepard let me hack that terminal." Isaac suddenly said. Shepard looked at the terminal.

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"If ExoGeni was experimenting on the people here..." Isaac said.

"They could be doing it elsewhere too." Shepard finished. He quickly let Isaac hack it.

"Shepard they did it to another colony with different samples of something else. It's been out of contact for a while. I've got the coordinates." Isaac said. Shepard nodded as he walked up the stairs near them. Shepard went to other side and saw even more geth. He quickly took out several grenades and threw them in different directions toward the geth he could sense. He then set them off, killing whatever geth were near. Shepard moved down with his shotgun and a geth destroyer attacked him. Thinking quickly, he used a combo of overload and warp, then quickly blasted it in flashlight part of it's head, ending it.

"Shepard that geth terminal looks hackable." Isaac said. Shepard quickly let Isaac into the terminal.

"Shepard, the geth are amassing a force somewhere in the Armstrong Nebula. You'll need to warn the Alliance. Also check that other terminal beside us." Isaac said. Shepard quickly did as Isaac instructed. One minute later Isaac talked again.

"Hmmm a group called Cerberus? They had more samples delivered to the Matano System. You might want to check things out there." Great one thing after another. Shepard then looked at the claws that were holding on when he saw something.

'That panel could dislodge it but what could force it...' Shepard thought as he looked around. He then saw a console that seemed to control pressure of some kind. He then walked over to it and fiddled with it until...

*screech, crash.*

Shepard looked behind to see one of the claws dislodge and with it the whole geth ship. The whole room shook as the thing down along with a crash.

"The energy should be down now." Isaac said. Then the radio crackled to life.

"I repeat, Normandy to shore party. Are you reading? Anyone there? Normandy to shore party. Come on, anyone, talk to me!" Joker's voice spoke out.

"Joker what's wrong?" Shepard asked.

"We're in lockdown here, Shepard. Something happened to the colonists. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship. They're freaking out!" Joker reported.

"They can't do any real damage. Just sit tight." Shepard said calmly.

"Uh... yea. Okay. Well, we'll just wait right here for you Shepard." Joker said.

"Did anyone else from the ground team enter the Normandy Joker?" Shepard asked as he made his way out.

"Uhh no. No one did." Joker responded. Shepard almost stopped walking, but kept going. His fears had come true, his team was taken.

"Okay, I'll get things sorted out." Shepard said as he turned off the comm. He quickly began to run towards the exit. He then met up with Lizbeth.

"There you are! We should leave now. I don't think this place is safe." Lizbeth said.

"You lied about the Thorian." Shepard.

"I was afraid. They threatened me when I came forward about it. Told me I'd become one of the subjects. When the geth attacked, I tried to get a message out but the power went out before I could send it. I-I never meant for this to happen." Lizbeth said.

"Get in the mako." Shepard said as they ran to it. When they got in Shepard quickly started driving back to where Juliana and Jeong were, thinking that maybe they could help.

"I really am sorry." Lizbeth said softly. Shepard saw the sad expression on her face.

"Fine, you did what you could, but you need to tell me where it is." Shepard said.

"It's under the outpost. When the geth attacked, the colonists covered it with the freighter just before it happened." Lizbeth said

"By would the geth be after the Thorian?" Shepard asked.

"It does have mind control capabilities. That was what ExoGeni was looking into." Lizbeth said. Then Joker's voice came on the mako's radio.

"Normandy to shore party. Come in."

"I'm listening." Shepard responded.

"The geth seemed to have deactivated completely Shepard, but the colonists are still going insane."

"I deal with it, trust me. Thanks for the update." Shepard said.

"Right, Joker out." Shepard then kept on driving until he got wind of Juliana's signal.

"-anybody. Is there anybody picking this up?"

"Get away from that radio!" The line cut.

"What was that all about?" Lizbeth asked.

"I'm not sure, but it can't be good Shepard said as they kept nearing the scientists. Then radio signaled again.

"This Juliana Baynham of Feros Colony, can anyone help us?"

"That's my mom! Stop the rover!" Lizbeth said. Shepard stopped and she got out. He quickly jumped out after her and both went down to see what was going on. As soon as they Jeong and Juliana, Shepard both made them kneel down, out of sight and he quieted Lizbeth down and told her to watch and wait.

"You can't do this Jeong!" Juliana said

"Everybody shut up! Let me think." Jeong shouted out.

"You won't get away with this Jeong." Juliana said back.

"Get her out of her!" Jeong shouted and security grabbed her. Lizbeth then ran right in saying "Get away from her you son of a bitch!"

"Lizbeth!" Juliana shouted as she got out of the guard's grasp and hugged her daughter.

"Damn it! Come out where I can see you!" Jeong shouted towards Shepard. Shepard calmly walked out.

"Hah, Shepard. Damn it! I knew it was too much to hope the geth would kill you. I found some interesting facts in the ExoGeni database about you. I knew a war hero would be terrible here. I know what happened on Akuze and I know what you did on Torfan. This doesn't have to end like eother of them." Jeong said.

"What do you think your doing?" Shepard asked.

"Communications opened back up and now ExoGeni wants this place cleansed." Jeong said.

"You can't just repurpose us Jeong!" Lizbeth said.

"It's not just you. There's something here far more valuable than a few colonists." Jeong said.

"Are going to tell them, or should I? You know about the Thorian?" Shepard said.

"Thorian?" Juliana asked.

"It's a telepathic life-form living under the outpost. It's taking control of the colonists there. ExoGeni knew all along!" Lizbeth said.

"You're not getting away with this!" Juliana said.

"So you keep saying, but nobody's going to miss a few colonists." Jeong coldly said. That was the last straw. Shepard pointed his pistol at Jeong.

"This ends now with you!" Shepard said.

"That's the way it's gotta be come on!" Jeong said as he pointed his pistol at Shepard. Shepard then pulled the trigger and Jeong was dead. The security were about to attack Shepard when he looked coldly back at them with his omni-tools out and a biotic aura manifesting around him. They deflated pretty quick. Shepard then turned to the mother and daughter.

"I'll kill the Thorian, then get you to safety." Shepard said.

"The colonists won't let you near the Thorian. They'd die first. They're under its control." Juliana said.

"I'll find a way to break it's control then." Shepard said.

"A nerve agent could help paralyze them! Like a gas grenade!" Lizbeth said.

"That'll help." Shepard said. Lizbeth nodded and asked to have his grenades. Shepard handed them over. A few minutes later and his grenades were now outfitted with anti-thorian gas upgrades. Shepard clipped his grenade belt back on, along with a breather helmet so he doesn't get infected.

'Hold on guys. I'm coming for you.' Shepard thought ready to stop the Thorian and save his friends.

* * *

Well what do you?

Good?

Bad?

In the middle?

Read and Review! Hope you enjoyed it!


	17. Feros Conclusion

Recap: 'Hold on guys. I'm coming for you.' Shepard thought ready to stop the Thorian and save his friends.

Now

Shepard checked his grenades. The number was at 10. That was the amount he could carry. The amount of chances he had to knock the colonists out. He then remembered something. He quickly approached Dr. Gavin Hossle. Hossle noticed Shepard approaching.

"Any luck finding my workstation out in the ruins?" Hossle asked.

"I managed to find the data and transfer it to your OSD." Shepard said as he tossed the OSD to Hossle who lunged for it.

"Excellent news, thank you." Hossle said.

"Well, I need to get going." Shepard said. Hossle nodded.

"Good luck Shepard. Here. Just in case you manage to find more grenades in the colony." Hossle said as he handed more Thorian gas mods. Shepard nodded in thanks as he moved to the mako. Shepard then checked his helmet for any leaks so the spores would not get in. He then entered the mako and began driving. As Shepard drove down the skyway, he thought of various questions. Is his team okay? Will he have to fight them like the colonists? What can the Thorian do?

"Shepard, I think it's best if you come up with a plan." Isaac said.

"Yea, I got one forming in my head right now." Shepard responded.

"Want to tell me what it is?" Isaac asked. Shepard was about to say something when he noticed they were coming up to the entrance to the colony. Shepard stopped at the door and waited for it to open.

"What the hell?" Shepard said aloud.

"I think we might have to hack the door." Isaac said. Shepard got out and noticed something. That something was curled up into a ball right in front of the door.

"What the fuck is that?" Shepard asked Isaac.

"I..I don't know." Isaac said completely bewildered.

"Well let's just get the door open." Shepard said as he made his way over to the door until he suddenly stopped when he sensed something about the thing.

"Shepard what's wrong?" Isaac asked, noticing Shepard stopping.

"Remember when I said that I felt something similar to a mist covering the colony and it was heavier around the colonists?" Shepard asked as he slowly turned to the thing.

"Uh yea, you were sensing the spores right?" Isaac said.

"Yea, and this thing feels like the mist except it's more heavier, condensed. Like it's completely made out of it." Shepard said as he kept his eyes on it.

"Yea but for all we know it could be a flower or some-" Isaac said until he was cut-off.

**"Ooohhh."** Shepard watched as the thing unwrapped itself and stood up, showing to be some kind plantlike creature similar to a husk, but without the wires. The thing then looked at him and attacked. Shepard dodged, but decided not to hit back. Instead he thought it best to watch and study it's movements.

'So this thing has no ranged attacks.' Shepard thought as it swiped at him. He then heard Isaac's voice in his helmet.

"Shepard, I've analyzed this creature's biology. It's very susceptible to fire, shredder rounds and the neural shock." Isaac said.

"Thanks, but I'll watch a little more." Shepard said before he kicked the thing. The thing... the creeper got back and swung its arm harder this time.

'1... 2... 3!' Shepard mentally counted before dodging. 3 seconds was the time limit before it swung its arm. The creeper began to swing another attack at Shepard once more, but this time Shepard caught the attack and held on. The creeper used its other arm and the result was the same. Then the creeper opened its mouth.

'Is it going to speak?' Shepard mentally thought to himself. He was proven wrong when the creeper suddenly barfed this disgusting green goo all over him.

'AWW DAMMIT! Come on!' Shepard mentally yelled out.

"Shepard this stuff is acidic! It's ignoring your armor's shields." Isaac informed.

'Okay I can't let these things get to close, they don't have any real ranged attacks. They obviously aren't smart enough to adapt when fighting someone. Now, is the Thorian watching or not?' Shepard mentally thought out. This was a new enemy who might have had something watching through its eyes. The creeper then ran at Shepard who sidestepped it putting his hand behind his back. Before the creeper could turn around, its head exploded. As its corpse fell to the ground, Shepard was revealed holding his shotgun with one hand. He then stared at the corpse waiting to see if it could move in its condition. Luckily it didn't. Shepard quickly took off his helmet and ran to the edge off the skyway before throwing up. His head was pounding and he was nauseous.

"Isaac what's wrong with me?" Shepard asked Isaac since he had never been sick since he had arrived on Omega. Shepard's omni-tools lit up since since his helmet was off.

"That vomit from the creeper was toxic. Since this is your first time going up against this stuff, it is going to make you sick." Isaac informed. Shepard then started to feel better and his headache went away.

"Did my genetic tailoring adapt to it that quickly?" Shepard asked aloud. He wasn't expecting Isaac to answer this time, so he was surprised a little.

"Partially. It's mostly due to the medical exoskeleton you grafted into your armor." Isaac said. Shepard then thought of the things that upgrade could do. There was a very fast application of potent medi-gel, it also help replenish his fatigue levels to use his abilities more and then there was... a very high toxin resistance. So that was what helped. Shepard got back up and walked over to the garage door. Shepard then used his sixth sense to feel what was on the other side. He felt more of those creepers just right at the door.

"Great, I'll need to adjust my plan for those things." Shepard said.

"Want to fill me in on it?" Isaac said.

"Yea it could help." Shepard said before he filled Isaac in on things as he began switching all of his guns' rounds to shredder rounds.

With the Thorian.

The Old Growth had spent thousands of years alive. It had been here before the so called protheans. When they landed, it studied them. Curious about them, it sat and waited until one of them came close enough into its cloud of spores. The prothean was then enthralled and was used to lure others to the Thorian who would also share the thrall's fate. For a few thousand years it had worked until... they came. Those colossal machines attacked and wiped out all of the protheans, including its thralls. It tried to use the other protheans that machines allowed to live, but for some reason the spores didn't work. Eventually the Old Growth fell into a deep sleep and waited for those blasted machines to be gone. It slept peacefully until something woke it up. A new race, different from the protheans had arrived. The Old Growth watched until it took control of a few of them. Life was peaceful until that fleshling came into its domain. It should have just destroyed him, but unfortunately he came with the cold ones, the ones they call geth.

They talked and bargained. When things were done, the fleshling betrayed it. He ordered the geth to destroy it's thralls and then it. It used its tools to the best it could, losing many. When it believed that its time was coming to an end, they came. A band of fleshlings of different races. The one who led them was after the fleshling Saren and the geth. The Thorian, seeing its opportunity, commanded the thralls to help in anyway possible. The Thorian watched as the band helped the its thralls. First by pushing the geth back, by getting rid of them and finally helping get the thrall's community a chance to survive. That was when the Old Growth decided to keep them all. When the leader separated from the group, the Old Growth would've struck if the leader hadn't been going to wipe out the geth. The Old Growth couldn't see that far, but was sure the leader would succeed, but die in the process.

So the Old Growth turned its attention towards the group and listened for their progress. It couldn't see anything until the group came upon one of the more strong willed thralls. To prevent discovery, it caused the fleshling great pain and made the group believe that he was crazy. The Old Growth lost sight of them for a short while before they reentered the thrall's home. It listened as they confirmed what the thrall's needed to survive. Pleased by the outcome it had its thralls strike. It had been pleased when 2 of its thralls managed to knock out 2 of the team. It then sent its 'children' to bring the group to it. The Old Growth had been surprised when the others hadn't gone down as quick. Almost as if they had been expecting it. But that was obviously impossible, no being could sense its control over its thralls without some kind of scanner. They hadn't expected the children since they fell after that. The Old Growth then had the group brought to its inner chamber. Incredible tools such as these need to be kept close, and recreated over and over again. It would take time, but it seemed to have that when one of its thralls watched the geth ship fall. The group members were placed in pods so they could be enthralled quickly, so to replenish its numbers. The Old Growth couldn't control them yet, but it was connected to see their memories. In the big one, it saw a world that the Old Growth would never want to be. A world with no water and predators. It could see recent memories of the leader and other creatures. In the one that was like Saren it could see a place full of other fleshlings. It could sense the creatures frustration and see what had caused it. With human male, the Old Growth saw the looks of a space station full of only his species. The memories turned to where he and the leader were facing some of their enemies, protecting the defenseless. The memories then turned once more to a more bloody battle involving the leader. It then switched to the females. The Old Growth could see that they were thinking of people that were close to them. The one thing it noticed was that each of the group's memories involved the leader in some way. For easier enthrallment, the Old Growth put each of them in a state of euphoria. Making their inner desires come true in a sense. Their perfect world. Next the Old Growth sent out the children to secure the area and protect its thralls as well as itself in its chamber. Some time later it felt a disturbance near one of the children further out.

The Old Growth tuned in only to see the leader. So he had survived. It commanded the child to attack and bring him for enthrallment. The Old Growth was surprised by how easily the leader avoided the attacks. Granted the human female and the krogan had either gunned one of them down or needed more than one to finish it, but still. The leader wasn't attacking, merely dodging almost as if... he was studying it. So that's what he was up. The Old Growth thought the child had him when the child poured its life essence on the leader, only to be shocked as the leader shrugged it off and quickly killed the child. The Old Growth saw that the leader was now a threat and directed its thralls to defend. The Old Growth could feel the emotions of the group and looked in to see what they saw.

Wrex was in a world where the krogan had been cured of the genophage. Shepard had nudged Wrex back into leading the krogan towards a brighter tomorrow and Wrex eventually gave into it. The krogan were now welcomed back into the galactic community with open arms and he was the one who led them to it.

Garrus was now one of the most respected turians in the galaxy, leading his own special forces to take in dangerous criminals. He kept true to Shepard's creed of not harming people and getting them out when they fell into the crossfire.

Kaidan had become part of the Alliance Brass. He had tracked Rahna down and got to know her again. Over the years, they dated until he finally popped the question and she said yes. The years passed and the happy couple had 2 kids together. As Kaidan turned around he saw Shepard in an Admiral's uniform along with Ashley and the rest of the Normandy crew including Wrex, Tali, Garrus and Liara for the reunion.

Ashley was in a world where she had cleared her grandfather's name and made the Williams' family a more respectable name in the Alliance forces. Shepard had quit being the Ghost of the Terminus and had become an Admiral in record time almost on par with Admiral Hackett. Shepard and her had been dating for over a 2 years now and he had finally asked her to marry him.

Liara was in her own world where Shepard had managed to talk down her mother into helping them defeat Saren. Afterwards she and Shepard spent the time to get to know each other better over the years. When it all culminated in their wedding to them having children.

Tali found herself in a world where she and Shepard had gotten together after defeating Saren and the Geth. Shepard then spent the next few years helping the Quarian people take down the Geth and retake Rannoch. Shepard and her eventually settled down on Rannoch after finding a way to allow the Quarians to live outside of their suits.

The Old Growth watched this with mild interest as it waited for the leader to come.

Back with Shepard and Isaac

"Seriously? You want to go in like that?" Isaac asked skeptically.

"Yep." Shepard said as he put the mako into a remote control state with his omni-tool. He had the mako fire a mass accelerator round at the garage door, weakening it. Shepard then played ACDC: Shoot To Thrill on the mako's radio.

"This is a song meant for a mako." Shepard said as he moved the mako back and then charged it toward the garage door.

On the other side

The 4 colonists had been compelled to guard the garage and waited silently for Shepard to enter. That was when they heard a pretty awesome song. This in turn made the creepers right by the door to wake up and look around. Then the sound of tires screeching sounded out and suddenly the door exploded in fire and debris with a mako flying through it all, running over the creepers fast. The mako crashed into the other side and the song then started to sound like a broken record at EEEE sound until it died out. The colonists both looked at it in confusion when they heard a metallic ping in between them. Looking down they saw a grenade. It exploded in a green mist that knocked them out.

Behind them Shepard had uncloaked himself smiling a little. His helmet back on he started talking to Isaac as he made his way to the elevator.

"And you were skeptical." Shepard accused lightly.

"Yea yea." Isaac responded.

"Hey did you find out how many colonists are here?" Shepard asked wondering how many people needed to be saved.

"If nothing happened to them while we were away, 16." Isaac said.

"That was 4 we took out so that leaves 12 then." Shepard said as he put his tactical cloak back on as he entered the elevator. He pushed the button for down, grabbed a grenade and quickly hung on the ceiling as it descended. The elevator stopped and as soon as the doors opened, 2 colonists were revealed having been waiting for it and fired as soon as the doors opened. After overheating their weapons they saw that the elevator appeared to be empty and cautiously entered it. When they did that Shepard dropped the grenade and swung out of the elevator. The elevator doors closed on the colonists as the grenade went off, knocking them out.

'That leaves 10.' Shepard mentally thought out.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap." Isaac said.

"Thanks." Shepard whispered as he snuck down the stairwell with his cloak still on. He then looked over the corner and could see the entrance to the colony as well as 4 more colonists and a creeper. Shepard then snuck to the left before he threw another grenade in the middle. The colonists couldn't dodge in time before they got knocked out. What made Shepard interested was when the creeper was caught in the blast. It withered and degraded instantly.

'Thank you Baynhams!' Shepard thanked silently as he continued on. As he snuck around he mentally counted out how many colonists and grenades he had.

'Okay that was 4 colonists, reducing the number to 6. I used 3 grenades out of 10, that leaves 7.' Shepard thought until he saw another colonist. He quickly threw a grenade at her, knocking her out. That was when Shepard heard more footsteps headed in his direction and then his cloak ran out.

'Shit!' Shepard mentally cursed. He quickly took out his pistol and a grenade when he saw 5 creepers running in his direction now that he was visible. Quickly throwing the grenade between him and the group he then pointed his pistol before he set the grenade off. The explosion killed 4 of the creepers, leaving one alive before Shepard used his pistol to correct that. The creeper was given a headshot, instantly killing it. Shepard then stuck to cover as he looked over to where the rest of the colonists were. He could see the remaining 6 in groups of 2. Luckily there weren't anymore creepers around for the moment. Shepard took out 3 grenades, putting each of them in between his fingers, linked them all to a switch in his hand before throwing them at the groups in one throw. As soon as he saw each grenade land on the ground, he hit the switch. He could see the colonists were down and out. Shepard then walked forward to the controls for the ship, having figured out that the biggest sense was thorian. He easily hacked the controls and managed to get the machine to lift the section of the ship, revealing the passage to the Thorian's inner sanctum.

'That's all the colonists, but that leaves me with 3 grenades left.' Shepard mentally went over. He then heard someone slowly approaching him from the side. He quickly drew his pistol and looked over to saw Fai Dan lifting a pistol from the ground. Shepard noticed that guy was fighting it, but it was taking a toll on the poor man if his pained expression was anything to go by.

"I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain." Fai Dan said with the pistol in his hand.

"What did you do with my team?" Shepard asked evenly.

"The creature made us attack and knock them out. Those things dragged them inside there." Fai Dan gasped out pointing to the passage. He then looked over at the knocked out colonists in sadness.

"I was supposed to be their leader. These people trusted me." He continued.

"What happened here was not your fault." Shepard said with his own Master HMWP pointed at Fai Dan.

"It wants me to stop you... but I... I won't" Fai Dan said as he took the pistol and pointed at Shepard. Fai Dan then pointed the pistol to his head.

"I WON'T!" Fai Dan roared out. Shepard didn't hesitate as he shot the pistol out of Fai Dan's hand and threw a grenade at the man's feet. The grenade exploded, causing Fai Dan to be knocked out. Before he drifted off into unconsciousness he pointed towards a crate near the controls.

"Grenades..." was all he said as he went out. Shepard moved toward the crate, opened it to find it was stocked with grenades. He took out 8 and modified them with anti-thorian gas before he headed down the passageway.

A few minutes later

Shepard had not run into any enemies yet as he went down into the sanctum. But he took out his Master HMWA and didn't dare lower his guard one bit. The feeling of the Thorian's spores had increased drastically as he continued down. On the colony it was like a mist, but in here it might as well have been the air itself. As he continued making his way he knew he was almost there. He could feel the Thorian itself. It was practically the mist solidified. When he made it to a wide open area he saw more and more vines. He began looking for the Thorian's main body which wasn't hard to find. Shepard saw the bulb figure and what looked to be tentacle like vines of what looked to be a mouth. If that didn't convince him, it was the fact that what looked to be saliva was flowing out of it.

"That is one ugly plant." Shepard said aloud.

"You can say that again." Isaac said in mild disgust. Shepard then felt something that seemed to be a mix of the mist feeling and a biotic feeling. The Thorian then made some hacking sounds causing Shepard to back, thinking it might throw up. Instead of puke though, an asari came out. Shepard would have asked if she was fine if he didn't think she was a creation of the Thorian. The fact that her skin was green and she looked mad at him told him he was right.

"Invader! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig and decompose." the asari said.

"Well that's not very nice." Shepard said in fake tone.

"I speak for the Old Growth as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe." The asari said. Shepard didn't answer, or bother to hear the Thorian's little monologue as he tried to sense where his team was at. Even in this place he could still feel the subtle differences. All of the team's biotics were together and if the static feel near it was any indication, that meant Tali was with them! Hopefully that meant they were all grouped together. Knowing where his team was, he looked at the asari in fornt of him.

"You gave something to Saren. Something I'm going to need." Shepard said.

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!" the asari said.

"I won't let you keep your thralls. Release them and my team, or I will kill you." Shepard growled out.

"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone too long." The asari said before Shepard used a throw on her knocking her down into the abyss.

"Bad move." Shepard said as he ran to the left. He kept moving and weaving by creepers, gunning them down until he came upon a node. Shepard fired at it until it exploded. The Thorian groaned, or screamed, in response.

'That must be important.' Shepard thought. He was about to continue when he felt something near the Thorian.

'So it can make more than one of those. Of course.' Shepard thought having identified it as another asari clone. He then ran up the stairs near him coming up to a room that had 7 creepers in it along with the clone.

'How did she get up here so fast?!' Shepard thought as he switched to his Master HMWSG and began firing. The asari came up to him and he used throw on her once again, knocking into the chasm. Shepard then turned his attention to the remaining creepers, finished them off and attacked the next node. Shepard then moved on to the next level above him, fighting through more creepers. Shepard switched to his pistol and grabbed a grenade when he felt a large number of creepers coming up. When he finally found the third node, it was surrounded by 12 creepers and another asari clone. He used Neural Shock on the asari clone and threw the grenade in the middle of the creeper group. The explosion took out 7 of the creepers. Shepard managed to grab another grenade before one the creepers got too close. Shepard noticed that it was about to use that vomit ability on him and used that to his advantage. He took the grenade and tossed it into the creeper's mouth and kicked it back to the creeper group. He hit the switch causing the grenade to go off killing the rest of the group. Shepard noticed the Shock wearing off on asari clone and quickly fired on her right in the head. Shepard then turned his attention to the node. He took out his rifle and dual wielded both weapons on the node, destroying it.

Shepard then moved on to the next level, after putting the pistol away. Finding less enemies than the other rooms and seeing the gap going down to the abyss, Shepard used his biotics on the creepers and tossed them off the level. A new asari clone jumped at him. He quickly threw his rifle into the air, took his omni-blades out and scissored her head off. Without stopping, Shepard caught his rifle, destroyed the fourth node and went up some stairs. This time he got mobbed by several creepers on the way up. He dropped a grenade which covered him and the creepers in a green mist upon explosion. The creepers withered in the cloud as Shepard moved on. He came to what had to be the final node. The creepers and another asari clone jumped him. In retaliation he used a biotic field repulse which either crushed them or sent them off into the abyss. Shepard then walked to the node, noticing that all of his team were on this level. He got a little worried when he noticed they were all contained in some kind of pod. Thinking that killing the Thorian would free them, Shepard aimed his rifle at the node when something used pull on him.

'What the hell?!' Shepard thought as he was pulled away. Something then used throw on him sending him into the wall. As he fell to his knees trying to get up, he looked at what had done that to him. His eyes widened in shock as he saw 3 asari clones in front of him.

'How? Wait when I knocked them off the levels, 2 of them must have grabbed onto a ledge or tendril. The other must be newly created.' Shepard thought as 2 of the clones levitated him into the air. The third grabbed his head, her eyes went black and Shepard knew what was coming.

"Embrace Enthrallment." The asari clone whispered. Shepard's view went black for a second. He then found himself waking up in a hammock.

'What the...' Shepard thought as he got up and looked around. He found himself on Mindoir in civilian clothing.

"There you are John. Talia has been wondering where you are." Shepard heard a voice from behind he quickly looked around to see Liselle.

"Lis? Who's Talia?" Shepard asked confused. Liselle looked at him confused.

"Who's Talia? She's our daughter silly! Come on, everyone but you is there! You can't miss your daughter's birthday party." Liselle said as she took his hand. She then led him to where everything was. As he came up to a house he saw everyone there. He saw Aria, Chun, Isaac in his hologram form, Ashley, Kaidan, Garrus, Wrex, Tali, Liara and Talitha. Even Anderson and Joker were there and then he saw... his mom. She was smiling at everything. Then he saw Talia. She was a beautiful asari 2 year old who looked like her mother, but had his deep blue eyes. Shepard waited until everyone sang happy birthday to Talia as the little toddler clapped and blew out her birthday candles. He then left the yard to see the meadow that the house overlooked. The sun was setting and it was all tranquil. He was then approached by his mother.

"So when are you going to tell me it's all fake?" Shepard asked coldly as he looked at the visage of his mother. She looked confused at him for a moment.

"Fake? None of this is fake John." Hannah said.

"Really? Then how are you alive? How did I meet Lis and everyone else if you didn't die? Besides, I'd never allow Chun to come to a 2 year old's birthday party. So tell me, Thorian." Shepard demanded. Hannah looked shocked until she looked down. The house and everyone in it vanished. They were both in the middle of the forest now, back in his inner world. The sun had disappeared and the moon had come out, it was still in its blue crescent form. Shepard could see the fake's cruel smile as black veins appeared on her face. She looked up at him with pitch black eyes. Faster than he could move, the fake's hands were latched tightly around his neck.

"Your not going to win!" Shepard struggled out as he tried to get out of the strangle hold. He struggled for a few minutes but the grip was too tight. He looked at the fake and noticed she wasn't smiling anymore. He then looked at the moon and wished he had the strength to break this hold. He then looked back at her and grabbed her hand.

"Mom!" Shepard called out. Then a great biotic light exploded from under them and enveloped them. Hannah then let him down and he walked over and hugged her.

'This is impossible!' The Thorian thought as it watched the whole scene. The whole area seemed to crack. None of them noticed the moon change into a first quarter.

"I'm doing fine mom. I'm still keeping myself safe and eating right. Can't say I stay out of trouble though. It really seems to like me for some reason. I've made a lot of worthwhile friends too. I'm still getting by somehow. So don't worry about me." Shepard said as he looked at his mom with heavy emotion in his eyes.

'He's breaking free of my direct enthrallment! How can he have such power?!' The Thorian thought as it wrestled to stay in control.

"It's time for me to go, everyone's waiting for me. Listen to me mom... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you back then, but I've always wanted to tell you... thank you mom... for protecting me." Shepard said as Hannah looked up, eyes back to normal and smiling at him. She then disappeared and Shepard's vision went pure white.

Shepard then saw that asari clones were still holding him. He quickly used a mini biotic repulse to knock them off their feet. He grabbed another grenade and dropped it as the clones got up and pounced him. The grenade went off and the gas caused the clones to suffocate from it. They then turned gray and began to rot.

'That's different.' Shepard thought as he turned toward the node and made a power strike. He then ran it and made a direct hit, instantly destroying it. The Thorian screamed as its support structure weakened and collapsed under its weight, causing it to fall into the chasm below. The pods containing his crew ripped open letting one of them tumble out. Shepard noticed each of them looking around as if they were confused. Shepard realized immediately that they had been under the Enthrallment thing.

"Hey guys." Shepard said. They all looked at him and wondered what happened to him. He was caked in green goo, had scrapes and marks all over his armor.

"Shepard what happened?" Kaidan asked.

"You all were nearly enslaved by a 10s of thousands year old sentient plant and I saved you." Shepard informed.

"So it was all a dream?" Ashley asked disappointed.

"It was all part of its enthrallment. Put you into a world that you believe is perfect for the least amount of resistance." Shepard said noticing she must have enjoyed her's a lot. Hell he had to admit if he didn't know about the Thorian, he would have wanted to stay in his.

"You sound as if you know it by experience Shepard." Garrus observed, causing everyone to look at him.

"Yea, almost had me too. But I got out." Shepard said. Then another pod along the wall opened up. Another asari, the original one that followed Saren, fell out. Everyone stared at her since only Shepard was the one who could use a gun properly for the moment. Before she could speak though the place shook. Everyone was trying to stay on their feet as Shepard suddenly felt something. It was coming from the pit and from he could sense it was coming from inside the Thorian's corpse. It was almost like the creation of an asari clone from the biotic feel, but it also felt like part of the Thorian had been seperated and condensed. Shepard started to believe whatever this thing was, they couldn't fight in here.

"We got to go now! Get up, grab her and let's go now! Now, now!" Shepard yelled as he grabbed the unnamed asari and began running to the exit with everyone following him. As they made it to the stairs Shepard felt the thing fully form and start to rip its way out of the Thorian. Shepard and crew finally made it out of the place and into the colony as the shakes became weaker. Shepard saw all of the colonists were back in the colony. Shepard handed the asari over to Kaidan.

"We need to get everyone into the docks and away from here!" Shepard shouted out to everyone.

"Why, isn't the thing dead?" Fai Dan asked.

"I'm not sure, but what I do know something was inside it and now it's making it's way up here, GO!" Shepard commanded as felt the thing making its way up. As everyone moved to the docks, Shepard ran to the ship controls and closed the passage. He then made a break for the entrance to the docks where his teams was when heard the sound of metal being wrenched and folded reached his ears. He slowly turned around and saw something that made him almost freeze in fear. The creature that had ripped its way up to the surface looked like a combination between a creeper and an asari clone. Its form was mostly asari, at least with the head crest. Its skin was gray and its torso was similar to a creeper's but more... lean and buffed out. It had claws like a creeper, but shorter. It's mouth was more like a creeper's too: teeth and no lips. Then Shepard saw its eyes gaze on him. Its pitch black soulless eyes. If that wasn't enough, the green biotic aura surrounding it made it look far more monstrous. (If you cant figure out, just picture what an Banshee and Creeper would look like combined without the wires. Scary isn't?)

"You are one ugly motherfucker." Shepard said. He could sense his team making a double for him. He knew immediately that they were at the entrance on the account of the sounds of their footsteps stopping right at there.

**"Motherfucker."** The creature said as if sounding it out to see if it liked how it rolled of its tongue. It's voice was deep, distorted and baritone with whisper finish. Shepard and everyone else was shocked. It could speak?

"What the hell are you?" Shepard asked coldly. The creature then looked at him specifically and its eyes narrowed at him.

**"I am New Growth, successor to the Old Growth of which you killed."** The now named New Growth said shocking Shepard.

"How do you know it was me?" Shepard asked.

**"We inherit the memories of our predecessors. In the Old Growth's final moments, it instructed me to kill you because you were the one that killed it." **New Growth explained.

"What will you do after you kill me? What do you want?" Shepard asked.

**"****To control Feros and then the galaxy! So Shepard, ready to die?"** New Growth said. Shepard created his second power strike in response.

"I was born ready motherfucker." Shepard said.

**"Motherfucker... I like that!"** New Growth said before Shepard biotically leaped into the air and descended onto New Growth, power strike first. The explosion blinded his team for a moment before everyone was shocked especially Shepard. When he collided into New Growth's barrier, he knew it would be powerful, but not so powerful that his power strike didn't even cause it to ripple! New Growth however was not shocked. Having the memories of the Old Growth allowed it to have knowledge of Shepard's abilities. Now that he was mobile and more condensed than the previous Thorian, his biotics were on a higher level than the asari clones. New Growth saw Shepard's shock and took advantage of it by using a very powerful throw on Shepard, sending him to the power generator.

Shepard hit the generator hard enough that when he landed, one of the panels was dented and fell off, revealing 2 long wires which connected the generator to the colony. New Growth then moved in small flashes, similar to what Shepard had done to save Liara and Ashley. New Growth was on Shepard within seconds already swiping at the Spectre with its deadly claws. Shepard managed to partially move to the side, allowing New Growth to hit the wires instead, cutting them. Shepard then grabbed the electrified wires and jabbed them into straight into New Growth's chest.

**"GGGGGGGYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"** New Growth roared in pain. Shepard could feel the electricity course through New Growth as well as see the light making New Growth's organs visible. Shepard noticed that New Growth's organ system was very similar to a human's except instead of one heart, there were 2. Both were adjacent to the lungs. Shepard then had a plan forming in his head on how to deal with New Growth, when the creature mentioned biotically grasped Shepard and hurled him to the other side of the colony. New Growth stalked over to Shepard this time, with those wires having caused it great fatigue. It only got halfway when someone fired a round into it's back. Looking around, it could see that it was the human female. The others followed up by firing into its back before it turned its hand toward them and erected a barrier. The shots impacted the barrier causing no harm at all. The squad continued to attack using their abilities, but none worked. New Growth was growing bored of them already and decided that it was time to cause them true defeat. It waved its other hand and everyone's weapons instantly overheated shocking them.

**"I know all about your technology and its weaknesses. For example, I caused a shift in your weapons mass accelerator part to make all of your rounds have more mass causing the load to be more than what you were using."** New Growth explained causing everyone to be afraid for a moment.

Shepard had watched as New Growth turned to his team as they distracted it. Shepard saw all the holes on New Growth. What shocked him was the fact that each whole came from a different gun and yet none of the rounds even went that deep. Then Shepard watched in fright as the holes closed and heal up at a very fast speed. Then when New Growth disabled their guns and explained it he was nearly downright terrified.

New Growth then began to gather biotic energy into its hands and then fired them towards the team. Shepard was a little afraid thinking it may have been a power strike, but was relieved to see it wasn't. Almost instantly 2 barriers formed where his squad was before the attacks hit. The attacks caused a ripple but that was it. On one side was the girl's team where Liara was making the the barrier. On the other side was the guys where both Kaidan and Wrex created the barrier. Shepard seeing his chance formed a third power strike and attack New Growth, this time scoring a direct hit.

**"RRRAAAAOOOWWW!"** New Growth yelled out as the power strike bore threw it. When the power strike ended everyone was in shock at the results. This time Shepard had managed to hit New Growth hard but he could now see New Growth's organs.

'So it has no real bones, just incredible tough and dense plant-like flesh holding itself together.' Shepard analyzed until New Growth whipped and back handed him further into the colony towards the tower entrance. New Growth began walking to where it threw Shepard, when Wrex saw his chance. He quickly charged at New Growth causing it to be knocked back. Wrex headbutted New Growth, pushing it back. New Growth quickly regained itself and gathered biotic energy its flat hand struck Wrex right in the shoulder. The blow went through his shields, his armor, plate armor and into his shoulder a little. The damage may have been far worse if there wasn't a three-way effort of Wrex using Barrier, Liara using stasis on New Growth and Kaidan backing Liara up with Neural Shock. New Growth noticed this.

**"Impressive teamwork..."** It commented before pulling its hand out of Wrex's shoulder. New Growth then biotically threw Wrex to them like a rag doll. As Wrex flew towards them, Liara and Kaidan used their biotics to make Wrex's landing easier while Garrus used his Sniper, Tali used Carnage and Ashley used Overkill on New Growth. Its barrier wasn't even flashing at the payload they used on it. It decided to finish its statement, **"but not good enough."**

Everyone was shocked at this creature. They used everything on it and didn't even scratch it! The only one who even managed to cause it pain was Shepard and merely smacked him away like a bug. New Growth then decided to give them despair.

**"Fight as long and hard as you can, it will not matter. I have extensive knowledge on your technology, my biotics are more powerful than all of yours combined, and I can endure as well as regenerate from attacks that would kill a geth colossus! I AM PERFECTION! You are nothing but vermin. Tools to be under my control. You and every other fleshling in the galaxy are going to be my slaves. WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"** New Growth said, laughing at the end with its green biotic aura flaring as it laughed. Everyone of Shepard's team was feeling despair. With New Growth's abilities, it was more powerful than all of them combined. New growth stopped laughing to see the despair set into their faces when it saw something out of the corner of its eye. IT turned only to be struck by an incredibly powerful omni-tool covered, biotically powered fist. The blow was so strong that New Growth went flying back at 9 feet before it regained its position. It looked at who would dare strike it in the face only to be shocked. Everyone else saw it happen and were all in awe at who attacked. What everyone saw was Shepard in his powered up form.

"You made a big mistake attacking my crew and threatening to enslave the galaxy." Shepard said in a very even voice. (Think of how Shepard's voice is in the control ending of mass effect 3 if you want.) Shepard was covered in a very intense biotic aura with his eyes glowing pure white. New Growth knew Shepard was glaring at it though. Shepard then instantly created a Super Power Strike with both hands and fired it right at New Growth. New Growth put up a hasty biotic barrier to protect itself. The barrier held strong and took most of the attack, but didn't last as the power strike destroyed it and what was left of the attack destroyed New Growth's hands. (If you want play bleach ost: cometh the hour part a.)

**'Impossible! How could he attained such power?! How?!'** New Growth frantically thought as it stared at its stumps. It then saw Shepard have his hands curled into fists, encased in omni-tool blades, each covered with a Neural Shock Charge (courtesy of Isaac). Shepard himself was in a lunge like position covered with his aura now pulsing.

"This is my new move, Juggernaut Strike." Shepard said in a cold voice. (Think of the biotic charge but with a very sharp point. Like biotic dart.) Shepard then flashed into New Growth, stabbing the creature right through and kept going until they both hit the stone wall. The amount of power from the attack was shown as the wall cracked and exploded on the other side. After a minute, Shepard walked away towards his team who was in complete shock at how Shepard took on the creature. That shock turned to fear when they saw New Growth getting back up, heavily damaged. They could all see its organs were exposed while the rest was completely see-through. Its body regenerated fast enough, but it's green goo that was its blood had still poured out.

**"Don't... you... turn... your.. back to me Shepard!"** New Growth yelled out to him. Shepard's form went out and looked to be back to normal as he stopped and turned around.

"I can kill you right now I hope you know that." Shepard coldly said.

**"Hehe you think that attack of yours is something I can't heal from? Please, I am perfect."** New Growth said. Shepard stared at the creature for a moment before he responded.

"No you're not, you're a thief and a scavenger. I've already deduced where your knowledge came from. It came from the knowledge of my crew when they had been captured by the older Thorian as well as the Thorian itself. As for your combat skills that also came from my crew too. When it's your biotic capabilities, that's simple. When you 'hatched' you devoured and absorbed the asari clones I had thrown down into the chasm myself. That's mostly why you look somewhat like an asari. Your regeneration is also from the Thorian and a genetic splice from my krogan friend over there. Trust me, you're not that hard to figure out." Shepard said shocking everyone. Wrex merely shook his head at Shepard's ability to read into things. That was when everyone noticed Shepard lifting a grenade switch into his hand for all to see. He had his thumb up over the button on it.

**"What's with the grenade switch? You going to blow yourself up to stop me? It won't work."** New Growth said smugly. Shepard then smirked a little.

"I don't have any grenades on me. You do though." Shepard said making New Growth look to see where Shepard had attached the grenades on it, but found none.

Shepard was smiling now before he said, "To be more specific, you have anti-thorian gas grenades inside of you!"

New Growth was now afraid and tried to find out when Shepard did it as did everyone else who were smiling at Shepard. The man himself saw this and decided to explain things.

"After my battle with the older Thorian I had 6 gas grenades left. When I electrocuted you, I could see your organs clearly. Finally when I charged you with my last attack, it was to wound you enough to place the grenades inside you so you would heal over them. I held the grenades in both of my hands when I attacked you. When you were shocked the dust was kicked up, I stored one in each heart, one in each lung, one in your stomach and one in your lower intestine." Shepard explained before he added, "You may have something from each of my crew, but you are 100% thorian creation." Shepard then pressed the button.

Everyone heard the grenades go off inside New Growth and watched in morbid fascination as its whole body withered and rotted from the inside out as the creature itself was in a silent scream. Finally the creature's body turned to dust as it fell apart. Shepard then looked towards his crew and made a big smile.

"We got it! Nice job team!" Shepard said before laughing causing everyone else to laugh as well.

* * *

So what did you think? Come on tell me in the reviews! Bad? Okay? Weird?

Hope you enjoyed it at least!


	18. Mission Report 2

Okay people, first things first. Thank you for making those reviews so fast. I was happier than Naruto at an all-you-can eat ramen buffet.

For those of you with names registered, you've seen my message.

For the guest who asked about Shepard's strength and mind. Well the way I see it about his mind, if you can read into the things and come up with a strategy against a new enemy as fast as he did in the next chapter, there isn't no need to increase his intellect that much anymore. As for his strength, naturally he can probably land a pretty hard bunch to knock a person out cold and easily send them back a few feet. Now putting his biotics with a punch would probably be the equivalent, or higher, to a charging krogan. You saw what happened in the last chapter. So in a sense Shepard's strength has increased, but not in obvious ways.

Also from now on Shepard's voice will be like the one in ME 3 control ending when he is in that powered up form. I feel it's appropriate you know? Also, I got a name for it, but I won't reveal it for a while.

Please keep reviewing and asking any questions. I'll do my best to answer them. With that being said, please enjoy.

* * *

Recap: Everyone heard the grenades go off inside New Growth and watched in morbid fascination as its whole body withered and rotted from the inside out as the creature itself was in a silent scream. Finally the creature's body turned to dust as it fell apart. Shepard then looked towards his crew and made a big smile.

"We got it! Nice job team!" Shepard said before laughing causing everyone else to laugh as well.

Now

Shepard and Wrex were now sitting down while everyone else checked them over to see the damage they sustained from New Growth's battle. Shepard saw what had happened when New Growth had pretty much backhanded him. He had to admit, his team was very well coordinated together when that attack.

"I got to say, your teamwork was very impressive in that fight." Shepard said. Everyone looked at him for a moment and smiled a little at that. Shepard then turned to Wrex.

"Wrex, you sure you're okay? I mean it looked like New Growth's little pierce attack got you pretty good for a second." Shepard asked. Wrex just grinned at him.

"Don't worry Shepard. The damage isn't as bad as it looks. I have to admit though, I'm a little surprised that thing's attack didn't go deeper with the way it pierced my barrier." Wrex said in thought.

"Actually Liara and I used a combination of stasis and neural shock on it to stop it, Wrex." Kaidan informed Wrex with Liara nodding in agreement.

"I thought I saw a glow surrounding it, but I thought it was just its biotics. Well thanks for the save." Wrex responded with a grateful nod.

"Actually that attack would've been far worse now that I think about it." Garrus cut in drawing everyone's attention.

"What do you mean Garrus?" Shepard asked, having an idea of what the turian was talking about.

"Well Shepard you bought all of us that Colossus armor as well as the upgrades. You, Ashley and Wrex are wearing the heavy version of the armor while I wear the medium version with everyone else wearing the light version." Garrus said receiving a nod from the spectre.

"And everyone on the team is definitely no slouch, in fact everyone here is very exceptional in their abilities, am I right?" Garrus continued getting nods from everyone.

"Garrus what exactly are you driving at here?" Tali asked curiously as she used her omni-tool to scan everyone's weapons and armor for any damage.. She couldn't follow what he was trying to say.

"What he's saying Tali, is that even with the advanced armor and upgrades, New Growth still went through it like it was nothing." Ashley said seeing what Garrus was going on about.

"Very good Ashley, but you missed something else." Garrus said nodding at her answer while he and Kaidan were doing first aid for Wrex.

"Hmmm? What?" Ashley asked as she was giving first aid to Shepard along with Liara. Shepard was silently happy that everyone was getting along.

"It wasn't just the armor and upgrades. Kaidan and I used a very powerful Stasis and Neural Shock while Wrex used Barrier, and New Growth still went through it without any real effort." Liara said making everyone but Shepard and Garrus balk at the insinuation. If it wasn't for any of that Wrex could have died today!

"True, but I like to think it was more of a testament to New Growth's power. It's not like all the enemies we face will have that kind of strength. Besides, in the end we won and we're all alive. I'm proud of your teamwork in fighting New Growth." Shepard said with a small smile making everyone a little more calm. That was when Wrex looked at Shepard and started talking again.

"Speaking of power Shepard, are you okay?" Wrex asked seriously, making everyone looking at him in confusion.

"I feel fine Wrex, well except for feeling a little sore in... everywhere." Shepard said joking a little. Wrex still looked at Shepard seriously.

"That's not what I'm talking about. I know your genetic modifications protected and healed any damage New Growth inflicted on you when it knocked you around. What I'm talking about is that form you took again. Last time it put you in so much pain that I had to knock you out." Wrex said making everyone look at Shepard with a little worry. Shepard looked a little surprised for a moment before he smirked a little.

"Now that you mention it I did go into it for a little bit." Shepard said as he looked down at his hands before continuing, "When I heard New Growth talking about enslaving everyone, I just... got so angry at it that I ended up summoning the power unconsciously."

Everyone looked at him for a minute before Kaidan spoke again.

"That doesn't explain why your not in pain from it though." he said. Shepard looked at him before answering.

"Well if I had to guess it would be because of my genetics." Shepard said making everyone think over what he told them before. There was increased intellect, healing, and biotics. Then there was the ability to outfight a krogan. After that it was... that was it.

"Shepard all you told us about it was increased intellect, biotics, healing and being able to outfight a krogan." Tali said making Shepard look at her confused before he thought back to it. Then Shepard's eyes went wide in realization.

"There was one more thing with it. It was being able to adapt to any situation. Maybe it includes being able to adapt to very dangerous affects too." Shepard said. Everyone thought of it, but decided to leave things as they were. Shepard was too confusing sometimes. That was when the asari the Thorian held came up to them.

"You freed me from the Thorian earlier. I-I suppose I should thank you for it." The asari said awkwardly. Shepard and everyone else looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You looked like you were in that pod for quite some time. You okay?" Shepard asked.

"I am. Or I will be, in time." The asari said nodding.

"Who exactly are you?" Kaidan asked.

"My name is Shiala. I serve- I served Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I." Shiala said making everyone but Shepard be on guard.

"Why did my mother join him?" Liara demanded in a somewhat cold tone which caused everyone to look at her in surprise. Shepard's cold personality must have started rubbing off on her. Shiala looked confused for moment before realization set in.

"You must be Liara, Matriarch Benezia's daughter." Shiala stated. Liara looked surprised for a second before Shiala continued, "Lady Benezia always mentioned you from time to time. Worrying for you."

Liara was a little shell-shocked at that. Shepard noticed and figured that something must have happened last time she and her mother spoke. He figured it was none of his business before turning back to the conversation.

"You still didn't explain why she and Saren joined forces." Tali said jumping into the conversation. Shiala looked to be lost in thought as she recalled what happened.

"Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path, but Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way." Shiala said sadly. Liara looked stricken by this news.

"Sooo what? Saren has the ability to control minds?" Ashley asked being skeptical.

"It probably isn't that far from the truth." Shepard muttered.

"Benezia underestimated Saren, as I did. We came to believe in his cause and his goals. The strength of his influence is troubling." Shiala said with her head down in thought.

"So Benezia was tricked into working with him?" Kaidan asked. Shiala nodded in response.

"Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren's control?" Shepard asked having a bad feeling from this.

"Saren has a vessel. An enormous warship unlike anything I've ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers." Shiala responded. Shepard rose his eyebrow at that. Could it be...

"Did this vessel have metallic appendages and a crest that made it look like some type of sea creature?" Shepard asked making everyone look at him in confusion.

"Yes." Shiala said thinking it over, making everyone look at her now. Wrex then spoke.

"Shepard you've seen this ship before?" he asked.

"Yes, on Eden Prime. Damn thing is what destroyed my ship." Shepard causing Ashley and Kaidan to think over the events of what happened there. For Kaidan, he remembered the footage that he saw as the Normandy came near Eden Prime, metallic tentacle-like appendages. For Ashley, she could remember seeing it in person, if only partially. So Shepard had gotten a good look at it. Shepard then looked back toward Shiala.

"Please continue." Shepard said. Shiala began to pace as she resumed speaking.

"They become indoctrinated to Saren's will. The process is subtle, it can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute." Shiala said. Shepard shook his head at that. One of the few things he learned was that there were very few things in the galaxy that were absolute. He then noticed Shiala kept speaking.

"I was willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian in order to learn its secrets. Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian." she said, melancholy now. Shepard looked at her with a little sadness now.

"Hmmm. Saren is pretty quick to betray his own people." Shepard stated. Shiala looked at him with a little fire in her eyes.

"He was quick to betray the Thorian too. After he had what he wanted, he ordered the geth to wipe out all evidence of its existence." Shiala said.

"Why would he try to cover things up? We wouldn't have known about this whole thing if he hadn't attacked anyway." Garrus said thinking over things like he did at c-sec.

"Because Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian to prevent you from gaining the Cipher." Shiala informed causing everyone to look at her strangely. Cipher? What Cipher?

"Whats the Cipher and why did Saren need it?" Shepard asked.

"Saren knows you saw what was stored in the beacon on Eden Prime. It gave you visions, but they were unclear, confusing. They were meant for a prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must think like a prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence." Shiala said. Shepard quietly looked at Liara and noticed she looked like Lis did when he bought her a diamond. He chalked it up to the fact she was a prothean researcher. Something like this might just be like the finding treasure to her.

"Just out of curiosity, did Saren mention what he saw from the beacon before he received the Cipher?" Shepard asked remembering something about his visions. Shiala looked as if she tried to remember what it was.

"Now that you mention it he did say he saw shadowy figures being wiped out by synthetics, but he couldn't see what they looked like." Shiala informed. Shepard looked strangely confused.

"That's strange." He said.

"Why?" Shiala asked causing everyone to pay attention to him.

"Well when I had the vision, I could see the figures' faces clearly." Shepard said shocking everyone but Ash and Kaidan.

"Then you must be more in tune with the protheans than most are. No wonder you have Saren on the alert." Shiala said surprising everyone.

"What do you mean? We haven't done anything really detrimental to him yet." Wrex said.

"Not any of you... him." Shiala said pointing at Shepard who was a little uneasy at the stares he was now getting.

"Any reason for just me?" Shepard asked already feeling the stares starting to bore through him.

"Unlike all of Saren's other enemies, you are the only one he can't predict. Back on Eden Prime, Saren battled a fellow Spectre who was on par with him. He still won though. Then you came along and battled him evenly, without Spectre training I might add. Then you manged to somehow convince the Council of Saren's guilt when he was sure they wouldn't even look for the evidence. Then you become a Spectre yourself, gaining the resources and clearance that he had been stripped of. Not only that, you managed to save Liara T'Soni from his geth. After your Spectre inauguration, Saren went to work on finding any and all information on you. He found out what you did on Elysium, Akuze and Torfan. To him Shepard, you're the biggest threat to his plans." Shiala informed making everyone think that with Shepard on their side and with how he has made Saren uneasy, they have a real chance of stopping him. Shepard himself though was a little nervous and not for himself, but for Liselle. If Saren was digging for info about, what's to stop him from harming Liselle if he finds out about her? He then noticed that Shiala looked a little embarrassed.

"I must admit, when I heard about your exploits, I thought they were just stories. Looking at your battle with both Thorians though, proves I was wrong." Shiala said. That last comment though made Shepard suspicious. The second one, New Growth, he could understand. The first one though had him baffled for a bit.

"Wait a minute, how could you see my first fight with the Thorian?" Shepard asked with his eyes narrowed. Everyone else caught on to what he was saying. For all they knew, she could've been another Thorian reincarnated. Shiala looked at them, a little nervous at their stares.

"I was connected to the Thorian on very deep level. I could see everything it saw. From when you first arrived to when you broke out of its' enthrallment. I must admit, out of all of everyone's, your's was the most simple Shepard." Shiala said smiling a little at the girls. When she said she saw 'everything', the girls were blushing red, purple or their helmet looked to be glowing a little. Shepard decided not to ask when he saw everyone balk a little at it. Shepard then decided it was time to get back to the important things.

"Well you said something about the Cipher?" Shepard egged on. Shiala then came back to what she was talking about earlier.

"The Thorian was here long before the protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it." Shiala explained.

"So the Thorian taught Saren to think like a prothean? How?" Shepard asked getting more confused.

"The Cipher is the very essence of being a prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like describing a color to a creature without eyes." Shiala continued. Shepard thought it over before he realized it.

"So it would need to be taught with something like a mind meld?" Shepard asked. Shiala nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly! To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory- the Cipher- when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught, it only exists." Shiala said.

"Well Shiala, I'm going to need that knowledge to stop Saren. Could you pass it to me?" Shepard asked as he got up. Everyone else followed suit. Shiala nodded to Shepard as she approached him.

"Try to relax, Shepard. Slow deep breathes." Shepard became perfectly still as he closed his eyes. Shiala continued as she got in front of him, "Let go of your physical shell. Reach out and grasp the threads that bind us, one to another. Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit." Everyone looked on with a little anxiety at what was going on.

"We are all connected. Every living being united in a single glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Ghost." Shiala's eyes suddenly turned black as she spoke with more emotion now, "Embrace eternity!" Then more images came like the one from the vision only this time it was more slower, easier to process. The whole ting was similar except for only a few things. Images of a place he had never been to. Some type of metal construction that he had never met before, but could have sworn he had seen it some place. Then it all turned to the viewpoint of a system with a blazing sun, then turned to the planet. It was shadowed from the position he was at. He then suddenly came toward the planet at a very fast but stable pace. Shepard could see something as he approached the center but what... Sovereign! Then the vision ended.

Everything went back to normal for Shepard as he saw everyone looking at both him and Shiala, who was on her knees and panting a little.

"I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the protheans are now a part of you." Shiala said still breathing a little heavily as she got up.

"A knowledge bond can be very traumatic. Are you alright Shepard?" Liara asked.

"I saw something that was... troubling. Other than that, I feel fine. What I want to know is why are you in that state." Shepard said as he looked toward Shiala whose breathing evened out.

"While your mind was open, your will made it difficult so I had to struggle a little." Shiala explained. Shepard nodded in understand.

"You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process this information." Shiala informed.

"It might be best that we get you on board the Normandy, so you can be monitored." Liara said thinking it could make Shepard suffer a mental breakdown of some kind.

"I am sorry if you have suffered, but there was no other way. You needed the Cipher, in time, it will help you understand the vision from the beacon." Shiala said.

"Now that your free, what will you do next?" Shepard asked watching her reaction. He knew she could still be under some type of control. Shiala looked to be deep in thought before she answered.

"If you will allow it, I would like to stay here with the colonists. They have suffered greatly, and I played a role in their suffering. I would like to make amends." Shiala said making Shepard stare at her for a moment before answering.

"After all the shit that's happened to them, they'll need all the help they can get. They'll be happy to have you on their side." Shepard said as he started to make his way to the docks.

"Thank you, Ghost. May fortune smile upon you." Shiala said. Shepard then stopped before he turned around with a sheepish expression.

"Before I forget tell the colonists I'm sorry about their generator's wires getting cut. Some omni-gel should fix it fast though." Shepard said as he rubbed the back of his head. Shiala nodded in response before the whole team left for the Normandy.

An hour later

The Normandy was now flying through the empty void of space, away from Feros and headed towards the mass relay. Inside, Shepard and the team had changed back into their normal clothes. Moving around in armor like that was like wearing stones on them constantly. Everyone was to meet up in the comm room. Shepard had arrived first, now clad in his pitch black fatigues. While he was waiting he couldn't help but wonder why there were no other clothes on board except for fatigues. He wasn't going too use the Alliance military issued fatigues though. They looked too tight to him. Granted Ashley made them look good, as did the other ladies wearing them. But to him, he did not want his junk to be either outlined or strangled. He didn't know how everyone else did it. Shepard noticed that Wrex, Garrus and Tali had switched back into their old outfits. Shepard could understand Tali's reasons because it was her favorite color. Wrex and Garrus though, he couldn't understand for the life of him. It was pretty much changing out of one set of armor into another one. He noticed Liara was back into that doctor's or researcher's outfit. The armor of her's still needs to be readjusted.

"Uh Shepard? You look... pale. Are you suffering any ill effects from the Cipher?" Liara asked, looking at him with concern. Shepard thought over her question before answering.

"I'd be lying if I said the Cipher didn't shake me up a bit." Shepard said. In truth it was only part of it. When he saw Sovereign, or at least something similar, in the vision, he was sure it couldn't be just a coincidence.

"I might be able to help you. I am an expert on the protheans, if I join my consciousness to yours maybe we can make sense of it." Liara offered. Shepard could see both concern and eagerness in her eyes. He decided to go along with it.

"Let's do it. I don't think we can afford to waste any time here." Shepard said as he walked over to her as she got up. They got close enough where she began to speak.

"Relax Shepard. Embrace eternity!" Liara said as her eyes turned pitch black. Shepard saw the replay of the vision except he noticed that it didn't include the system part to Sovereign. Maybe it's because Liara's mind is not ready yet? He suddenly found himself back in the comm room. Liara looked a little fatigued from the experience.

"That was incredible! All this time, all my research, yet I never dreamed..." Liara began to rant until she caught Shepard's expectant stare before going, "I'm sorry, the images were so vivid. I never imagined the experience would be so... intense. Shiala was right about you. You must be remarkably strong-willed Shepard. What you've been through, what you've seen, would have destroyed a lesser mind."

"Come on, get to the point! What did you see?" Ashley said getting both impatient and jealous at how the moment was.

"The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. Large parts of the vision are missing. The data transferred into Shepard's mind is incomplete." Liara said, having not noticed Ashley's jealously and surprising everyone at this new information. Shepard looked like he was actually shocked at it. He hadn't considered that.

"But you must have seen something." Shepard said.

"I was able to interpret the data relayed through your vision. What was there at least anyway. But something was missing." Liara said making Shepard brainstorm. Missing? There was that part about the system that wasn't there. Maybe that was it. Shepard heard Liara start to talk again.

"Saren must have the missing information. Maybe he found another beacon. If we can find the missing data from your vision I can- whoa!" Liara started to say before she stumbled a little. Shepard put his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady until she regained her balance.

"Liara are you alright?" Shepard asked concerned. Everyone else was a little worried about it too considering they looked to be almost getting out of their seats to help.

"I'm sorry. The joining is... exhausting. I should go to the medical bay and lie down for a moment." Liara said as she started to move out of the comm room.

"We're done here, dismissed." Shepard said thinking it was time to end the conversation. Everyone filed out quickly until only Shepard and Ashley remained.

"Ashley was there something you wanted to talk about?" Shepard asked curiously. It wasn't like her to stay around in a place that didn't have anything she could work on. Ashley stood silent for a moment looking down. Unknown to Shepard she was blushing a little, before she answered him.

"I-I wanted to say thanks for saving us." Ashley said. Shepard was about to say it was no problem before she walked up and kissed him on the cheek before she practically sprinted out of the comm room. Shepard just stood there frozen for a minute in shock. His primal self was screaming at him to go get her, but by some miracle he managed to ignore it... for now at least. That was when he suddenly heard Joker's voice over the intercom, startling him.

"I've just sent off the Feros report Shepard. You want me to patch you through to the Council?" Joker asked.

"Might as well." Shepard said as he sighed a little.

"Setting up the link now, Shepard." He then turned to where the Council's holograms appeared. The first to speak was the Asari Councilor, Tevos.

"Ghost. Exogeni should have told us about the Thorian. It would have made your job much easier." Tevos said. For some reason Shepard felt like it was just false comfort to him. The Salarian Councilor, Valern then spoke.

"You may have been able to capture either one for study instead of destroying them." Valern said. That little idea provoked Shepard to talk.

"Not a chance, Councilor. Those things cared nothing for anything other than themselves. The new one who could speak? It actually said it had plans to enslave everyone in the galaxy. You really want to try and study that?" Shepard retorted. Valern froze for a moment before answering.

"True, Ghost. You may be right." Valern said stroking his chin in thought.

"Perhaps it's for the best then. At least the colony was saved." Tevos said with a small smile. Then Shepard heard his least favorite councilor speak.

"Of course it was saved. Shepard would go to any lengths to help a human colony." Sparatus said with blatant criticism. Shepard looked at him annoyed and he could see the turian saw it too.

"Being human had nothing to do with it. Innocent people were in trouble and I could help them. It doesn't matter to me if it's human, turian, asari, salarian or any other species. You don't like the way I do things: getting the mission accomplished as well as going above and beyond things, too bad. You want someone else to do things the way you want them too, get another spectre. I know you have plenty more, _Sparatus_." Shepard said back using the councilor's name. Said turian was in shock as well as the others.

"Such disrespect-" Sparatus began to growl out before Valern cut him off.

"Admirable, but sometimes Spectres have to make sacrifices. I hope you're willing to do that when the time comes." Valern said hoping to diffuse the situation.

"When the time comes, we'll find out." Shepard said.

"We also have read the report of your battle with... New Growth?" Tevos asked.

"That's what it called itself." Shepard said shrugging. This time he hadn't skipped the details, not even the form or the power strike. The only thing he hadn't mentioned was his genetics. Didn't want to give the salarians more reason to go after him.

"That thing nearly tore me and my squad apart. We managed to beat it, barely." Shepard said rubbing his shoulder he had landed on the second time.

"Yes, the creature had incredibly powerful biotics and precise mass effect field control." Valern said, his salarian curiosity peaking up again. Shepard nodded at that.

"What I'm more curious about is the form you took and that attack of yours. A... Power Strike?" Sparatus asked. Shepard nodded and explained the power strike was in a nutshell.

"That sounds like a devastating move... if it were true." Tevos said. Shepard rose an eyebrow at her.

"I'm guessing you don't believe me?" Shepard stated a little miffed.

"Well, it's just that the asari are natural biotics. We've done more research on it than any other race in the galaxy, more so than the salarians even. In the thousands of years of our history, not one of has even thought of a move like that. If I didn't know any better, I would believe you were making up stories." Tevos said. The other Councilors were nodding, Sparatus looking smug. That was the final straw for Shepard. He stuck his hand out for all of them to see before he gathered biotic energy into his hand, creating a power strike. The Councilors watched awestruck at it. Shepard then looked at Tevos with his cold stare, causing her to be nervous.

"All of you listen and listen well, cause I'm only saying this once. I'm a lot of things: vigilante, hero, murderer, fighter and an assassin from time to time. But when it comes to my abilities, I don't boast about them without proof. If you still don't believe me, I'd more than happy to fly over to the Citadel and slam one into each of your offices." Shepard in a cold tone that made every single one of them balk before saying anything. Valern broke the silence first.

"T-T-That's unnecessary Ghost, we believe you right?" Valern said quickly making the others nod fast. Shepard powered down the power strike before talking again.

"Now then, are there anymore questions?" Shepard asked evenly.

"That form that was in the report..." Sparatus began to say before Shepard spoke up.

"No I don't know how I go into it, no I don't know what causes it, and no I don't know why it's only in me." Shepard said having guessed those were the questions. The Councilors were stunned a little. That was when Shepard realized something.

"Before I forget," Shepard causing them to pay attention. "I've found out the Benezia is being controlled. I'm not too sure about Saren though, I'll need more data on him. Could you forward his files to me please? It could help me better understand him." Shepard said making the Councilors confused.

"Why exactly do you want to understand him?" Sparatus asked in a more controlled tone now.

"There is an old book in human literature called 'The Art of War'. In one of the earlier chapters it says if you know your enemy and know yourself, then you will be imperiled in a hundred battles. I know myself, but I do not know Saren. You can understand what I'm talking about, Sparatus, coming from a military society. Besides I've heard that Saren has been looking into my history." Shepard explained. Sparatus nodded at the answer.

"I will send any and all data and documents to you, Ghost." Sparatus said as he logged off. Valern nodded before logging off. Shepard thought Tevos would be logging of as he turned around before he heard someone go 'ahem'. Shepard turned around to see that Tevos was still there.

"Councilor Tevos, is there something else you wanted?" Shepard asked, trying to be polite.

"I just wanted to talk to the man who saved my daughter out in the Terminus." Tevos replied. Shepard brainstormed for a moment, trying to figure out who it was. He rescued a lot of asari during his time as Ghost. Tevos saw his thoughtful expression and tried to give him a hint.

"You and her have been dating for a while now." she said, making Shepard's eyes go wide.

"Lis? Lis is your daughter?" Shepard asked in shock. Tevos nodded smiling. It took a few minutes for Shepard's mind to reboot from that before he smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well that explains where she gets her kind personality." Shepard said making Tevos chuckle. Shepard then turned serious as he lowered his hand from his head.

"You do know that she...?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, I do know about that." Tevos said a little solemn. In her opinion, if Liselle was going to be with anyone from the Terminus, it would be with someone like Ghost. Someone who could protect and was kind. Not many people were like that in the Terminus.

"You have any idea why...?" Shepard asked before Tevos shook her head no. He silently cursed.

"Well thanks anyway. You guys wouldn't happen to have anymore information on Saren and the geth currently?" Shepard asked hoping to steer clear of the conversation. Tevos could see it too so she went with it.

"I'm a afraid not. We'll send any information to Ambassador Udina or Captain Anderson if we do." Tevos said.

"Well talk to you later then." Shepard sighed out.

"Goodbye Ghost. We'll be waiting to hear from you again." Tevos said as she logged out. Shepard just stood there in the room.

'Lis, what would cause you to break up with me? I know we never had any problems, in fact we were one of the most hopeful couples on Omega. That's saying something, right?' Shepard silently thought out as he made to leave the comm room.

* * *

I know short right? Sorry it's just a filler today. Had mild case of writer's block mixed with laziness.

Well review please. If you got any suggestions about the next chapter or the story itself, or if simply want to make a bad comment, I'll listen.

Heads up! Next chapter(s) will also be fillers too, for the side missions. After that whole New Growth fight I can't think of anything else for non-canon.

Hope you enjoyed reading it though!


End file.
